Crucifixions and Gruesome Beheadings: Fear of Islamic State make Gulf monarchies set aside differences

ISIS daily profits from oil, theft, human trafficking exceed $3mn – report Published time: September 14, 2014 18:24 Get short URL Reuters / Alaa Al-Marjani Reuters / Alaa Al-Marjani Trends ISIS in Iraq Tags Conflict, Iraq, Military, Syria, Terrorism, Violence Islamic State radicals gain more than $3 million per day just from oil sales, while also earning huge sums from human trafficking and extortion, report US intelligence officials and experts. They are wealthier than any other terror group in history. The Islamic State group which seized huge terrorizes in Iraq and Syria, is now controlling eleven oil fields in both countries, US analysts told AP. They added that the militants are selling oil and other products via old established networks under the noses of Kurdish, Turkish and Jordanian authorities. Islamic State claims execution of UK hostage David Haines, releases video The resources of the Islamic State (IS) exceed that “of any other terrorist group in history,” a US intelligence official told the agency on condition of anonymity. According to the analysts, the illegal oil is usually transported in tanker trucks. “There's a lot of money to be made,” said Dr. Denise Natali, who worked in Kurdistan as an American humanitarian official and is now a senior research fellow at National Defense University. “The Kurds say they have made an attempt to close it down, but you pay off a border guard, you pay off somebody else and you get stuff through,” she added. IS reportedly gets for its smuggled oil about $25 to $60 per barrel. Normally the same amount of oil costs about $100. However the total profit of the extremist group exceeds $3 million a day, said Luay al-Khatteeb, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution's Doha Center in Qatar. A general view of an oil refinery in Al-Jbessa oil field in Al-Shaddadeh town of Al-Hasakah gorvernate. (Reuters / Stringer) The group also exports illegally the antiquities out of Iraq to Turkey and thus gets hundreds of millions of dollars, added al-Khatteeb. Millions more come from human trafficking as the militants are selling women and children as sex slaves. Other sources of income include extortion payments, ransom from kidnapped hostages, and any kind of theft from the areas taken by IS. “It's cash-raising activities resemble those of a mafia-like organization,” another US intelligence official said, again on condition of anonymity. “They are well-organized, systematic and enforced through intimidation and violence.” ISIS ‘making millions’ out of stolen oil revenues in Iraq According to US officials, the militants started imposing taxes on all kinds of economic activity in the city of Mosul, northern Iraq, even before it was seized by them in June. They threatened death penalties to those who were reluctant to pay. From Mosul alone, IS was reaping $8 million a month from extortion, said an analysis by the Council on Foreign Relations. When the group seized the city, it grabbed millions of dollars in cash from banks, though not the hundreds of millions as initially reported, US intelligence officials say. A general view is seen of Mosul Dam in northern Iraq (Reuters/Youssef Boudlal) A general view is seen of Mosul Dam in northern Iraq (Reuters/Youssef Boudlal) The IS fighters managed to take control of the Mosul Dam in early August. However, persistent US strikes forced the militants out of the area, marking the first significant defeat for them since the US re-entered the conflict with airstrikes. Islamic State jihadists seize Iraq's largest dam, 3 towns in offensive vs Kurds The Islamic State group “has managed to successfully translate territorial control in northern Syria and portions of Iraq into a means of revenue generation,” said one more US intelligence official. The border between Iraq and Turkey has long been a haven for smugglers, and that’s why the group has so much illegal activities, claim the analysts, adding that generations have illicitly moved various goods through the region. ‘Neither Islamic, nor state’: UK Muslim leaders object to extremist group’s name In the meantime, the US officials reportedly noticed one positive tendency as the IS violent tactics have subsequently drawn worldwide attention and funding has diminished. === U.S. sees Middle East help fighting IS, Britain cautious after beheading Sun, Sep 14 20:42 PM EDT image 1 of 6 By Will Dunham and Andrew Osborn WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - Washington said countries in the Middle East had offered to join air strikes against Islamic State militants and Australia said it would send troops, but Britain held back even after the group beheaded a British hostage and threatened to kill another. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been touring the Middle East to try to secure backing for U.S. efforts to build a coalition to fight the Islamic State militants who have grabbed territory in Syria and Iraq. The United States resumed air strikes in Iraq in August for the first time since the 2011 withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, fearful the militants would break the country up and use it as a base for attacks on the West. The addition of Arab fighter jets would greatly strengthen the credibility of what is a risky and complicated campaign. "We have countries in this region, countries outside of this region, in addition to the United States, all of whom are prepared to engage in military assistance, in actual strikes if that is what it requires," Kerry said. "And we also have a growing number of people who are prepared to do all the other things," he said in remarks broadcast on Sunday on the CBS program "Face the Nation." Offers of Arab air participation have been made both to U.S. Central Command overseeing the American air campaign and to the Iraqi government, a senior State Department official said. The official said the offers were not limited to air strikes on Iraq. "Some have indicated for quite a while a willingness to do them elsewhere," the official said. "We have to sort through all of that because you can’t just go and bomb something." As of Saturday, U.S. fighter jets had conducted 160 air strikes on Islamic State positions in Iraq. The United States will present a legal case before expanding them into Syria, U.S. officials said, justifying them largely on the basis of defending Iraq from militants who have taken shelter in neighboring Syria during its three-year civil war. Australia became the first country to detail troop numbers and aircraft to fight the militants in Iraq. It said it would send a 600-strong force and eight fighter jets to the region but did not intend to operate in Syria. Russia, at odds with the West over Ukraine, has said any air strikes in Syria would be an act of aggression without the consent of President Bashar al-Assad or an international mandate. Britain has often been the first country to join U.S. military action overseas and is under pressure to get much tougher with IS after video footage of the killing of Briton David Haines by the militants was released on Saturday. In footage consistent with the filmed executions of two American journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, in the past month, they also threatened to kill another British hostage. Speaking after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency response committee in London, Prime Minister David Cameron called the killing of Haines, a 44 year-old Scottish aid worker, callous and brutal and hailed him as a "British hero." "We will hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice no matter how long it takes," he said, calling IS "the embodiment of evil" and saying his government was prepared "to take whatever steps are necessary" against the militants. SUNNI 'ANVIL' But he did not announce any air strikes, mindful of war-weary public opinion, parliament's rejection last year of air strikes on Syria, and sensitivities surrounding Scotland's independence referendum on Thursday. U.S. allies are skeptical of how far Washington will commit to a conflict in which nearly every country in the region has a stake, set against the backdrop of Islam's 1,300-year-old rift between Sunnis and Shi'ites. Many fear there is not enough emphasis on ensuring the Iraqi government is strong and united enough to overcome sectarian divisions and run the country effectively after any intervention. Britain and the United States have ruled out sending ground troops back into Iraq and Kerry did not say which countries had offered. "We're not looking to put troops on the ground," he said. "There are some who have offered to do so, but we are not looking for that at this moment anyway." On the CNN program "State of the Union," White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough was asked if the coalition would need ground troops beyond opposition forces in Syria and Kurdish and government forces in Iraq. "Ultimately to destroy ISIL we do need to have a force, an anvil against which they will be pushed - ideally Sunni forces," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State. 'EXTREMELY ENCOURAGED' On Thursday, Kerry won the backing for a "coordinated military campaign" from 10 Arab countries - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and six Gulf states including rich rivals Saudi Arabia and Qatar. "This is a strategy coming together as the coalition comes together and the countries declare what they are prepared to do," Kerry said in the interview, taped on Saturday in Egypt. "I've been extremely encouraged to hear from all of the people that I've been meeting with about their readiness and willingness to participate," Kerry added. France has offered to take part in air strikes in Iraq and is expected to give more details this week on what it is willing to do, although its financial resources and forces are already stretched with more than 5,000 soldiers in West Africa. Michael McCaul, a Republican who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, told the same CBS program that Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan told him "he is ready to put his troops into Syria to fight ISIS". Washington could also try to persuade Egypt to put troops in Syria," McCaul said. John Kerry will meet British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond during a conference on Iraq in Paris on Monday. The conference brings Iraqi authorities together with about 30 countries and organizations to coordinate their response to Islamic State. “It will also be the first time to really gauge what Russia thinks and is ready to do,” a French diplomat said. The diplomat said Syria was a different case. “The situation is not the same either legally or militarily. We do not want to strengthen Assad, so we have to be sure that strikes there don’t do that,” the diplomat said. “We are ready to help Iraq’s government, which has asked for our help, but not Assad’s dictatorship." (Additional reporting by Jason Szep and John Irish in Paris, Timothy Gardner in Washington, Morag MacKinnon in Perth, Australia and William Maclean in Dubai; Writing by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Anna Willard, Peter Cooney and Mohammad Zargham) ============ INSIGHT-Islamic State's financial independence poses quandary for its foes Thu, Sep 11 01:00 AM EDT * Islamic State relies on mixture of taxation, oil sales * Hardline group turns away from private donor route * Militants control commercial centres to generate funding * Focus on blocking external funds will do little, for now By Raheem Salman and Yara Bayoumy BAGHDAD/DUBAI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Sometimes they came pretending to buy things. Sometimes they texted, sometimes they called, but the message was always the same: "Give us money." Months before they took control of the Iraqi city of Mosul in June, Islamic State militants were already busy collecting money to finance their campaign of setting up a 7th century-style caliphate. The owner of a Mosul grocery store recounted how, when he hesitated to pay, militants exploded a bomb outside his shop as a warning. "If a person still refused, they kidnapped him and asked his family to pay ransom," he said. The shopkeeper, who declined to be identified out of concern for his safety, said he had paid the militants $100 a month six or seven times this year. In return, he was given a receipt that says: "Received from Mr. ...., the amount of ...., as support to the Mujahideen." The shop keeper's tale illustrates how Islamic State has long been systematically collecting funds for a land grab that already includes a stretch of northern Iraq and Syria. Another Mosul worker corroborated the account of IS tactics. "The tax system was well-organised. They took money from small merchants, petrol station owners, generator owners, small factories, big companies, even pharmacists and doctors," said the shop owner who, out of frustration and fear, closed his store and is now trying to make a living as a taxi driver. Learning from their previous incarnation as the Islamic State of Iraq, when they received money from foreign fighters, Islamic State has almost weaned itself off private funds from sympathetic individual donors in the Gulf. Such money flows have come under increased scrutiny from the U.S. Treasury. Instead the group has formalised a system of internal financing that includes an Islamic form of taxation, looting and most significantly, oil sales, to run their 'state' effectively. This suggests it will be harder to cut the group's access to the local funding that is fuelling its control of territory and strengthening its threat to the Middle East and the West. Nevertheless, financing from Gulf donors may prove more critical in months to come, if U.S. President Barack Obama's mission to "degrade and destroy" the group succeeds and the group loses territory and finds itself looking abroad for funds. CONTROLLING COMMERCIAL CENTRES In the eastern Syrian city of Mayadin, an Islamic State supporter who goes by the name of Abu Hamza al-Masri, said the militants had set up checkpoints in the last few months demanding money from passing cars and trucks. The money purportedly goes into a 'zakat' or 'alms' fund, but Abu Hamza admitted some sums go to pay bonuses or salaries of fighters. "Passengers are asked to open their wallets ... in some instances they are threatened at gunpoint if they resist," said another Syrian secular activist in Deir ez-Zor contacted by Reuters via Whatsapp. But extortion is not Islamic State's top money-spinner. Analysts and activists say the majority of the group's money comes from oil sales to local traders from wells under Islamic State control. Luay Al-Khatteeb, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center who has done extensive research into Islamic State's oil smuggling, says the group now has access to five oilfields in Iraq, each of which have between 40 to 70 oil wells. "They deal with a sophisticated network of middle men, some of whom are affiliated with the (Iraqi) oil companies. They have to pay various checkpoints to move around all these oil convoys and specifically to export the oil to Turkey," Khatteeb said. "It is estimated that now, after recent territory losses, they can produce give or take 25,000 bpd, easily getting them about $1.2 million a day, on and off, even if they sell at a discount price of $25-$60 a barrel," Khatteeb said. This volume of oil production would be on par with a small offshore field on the north slope of Alaska. A high-level Iraqi security official put the number of oilfields under the group's control at four, with a fifth in contest between them and Kurdish peshmerga forces. The group appears to have chosen areas of conquest carefully, with an eye to funding. In the Syrian province of Raqqa, a stronghold of the group, the militants made sure they could effectively manage the area before moving on to conquer territory across the border in Iraq. They moved into Fallujah in Iraq's Anbar province in early 2014, before reaching Mosul in June, a major urban centre. "It's about controlling financial nodes. It's controlling commercial centres, it's controlling roads for checkpoints and there's no surprise in that, because there's significant value in that control. And the more finance you earn, the more you can develop. It's a reinforcing circuit," said Tom Keatinge, a finance and security analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). "There's no point in controlling acres of desert. You want to control the financial nodes so that you can continue to expand. You don't want to spread yourself too thin financially before you can operate effectively in an expanded area." LESS RELIANCE ON PRIVATE FUNDS Documents from al Qaeda in Iraq captured by U.S. forces near Iraq's Sinjar town in 2007 included reams of finance and expense reports, showing the group, a predecessor of Islamic State, "relied heavily on voluntary donations", says a 2008 report by West Point's Combating Terrorism Center. The report, "Bombers, Bank Accounts and Bleedout", said the "financial reports and receipts in the Sinjar documents show that the Islamic State of Iraq relied on three sources of funding: transfers from other leaders in al Qaeda in Iraq, money foreign suicide bombers brought with them and fundraising from local Iraqis." The study said it was unclear from the documents whether the funds from locals were given voluntarily. The bureaucratic obsession with accounting proved ironic - while it helped the group track funds, the documents, once in the hands of the U.S. military, helped Washington understand how the financing worked - from the operatives who moved money, to the ones who donated money, to how the money was spent. One lesson learned, the Sinjar documents show, was the need for more reliable financing, especially with countries trying harder to disrupt the flow of funds, Keatinge said. "If you have a sophisticated understanding of financial management like Islamic State or al Shabaab in Somalia, you know very well that relying on diaspora or private donations or funds that can be disrupted by the international community is a risky way to go," said Keatinge. By its own admission, Washington realises funds from outside donors are not as significant a threat as their self-financing methods, but the United States and its allies have been slow to move to cut those sources off. "(IS) receives some money from outside donors, but that pales in comparison to their self funding through criminal and terrorist activities," a senior State Department official said. Ransoms from kidnappings do not seem to compete with oil sales, and not much is reliably known about the amounts they have received. ABC News reported that one U.S. hostage held by Islamic State is a 26-year-old female aid worker, for whom the group has demanded $6.6 million in ransom. British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament he had no doubt that tens of millions of pounds of ransom payments were going to Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. Focus, a German magazine said in April that France paid $18 million for the release of four French hostages who had been held by Islamic State, citing NATO sources in Brussels. French officials say the French state does not pay ransoms. Then there is crime. IS raided the central bank in Mosul and reportedly seized substantial sums of money, though the figures are disputed. The group apparently allows Iraqis in Mosul to withdraw 10 percent of their bank deposits and give 5 percent of the withdrawn amount, as zakat, or Islamic alms. WHAT CAN BE DONE Kuwait has been one of the biggest humanitarian donors to Syrian refugees through the United Nations. It has also struggled to control unofficial fund-raising for opposition groups in Syria by private individuals. Ahmed al-Sanee, head of charities in Kuwait's Social Affairs ministry, said recently there was "strict monitoring" of unlicensed donation collecting. Finance minister Anas al-Saleh said on Tuesday Kuwait was "committed to international efforts in fighting this terror". "Whomever has been identified by the United Nations as a terrorist, we will be implementing our law on them," he said. Washington has moved to cut off sources of private donations. Last month it imposed sanctions on three men it said funnelled money from Kuwait to Islamic militant groups in Iraq and Syria. Kuwait briefly detained two of the men, both of whom are prominent clerics. "If I were the Chief Financial Officer of IS or ISIS as it was then, I would be watching that development very closely. Because if I were receiving money from the Gulf states, at that point I for sure knew that it would get harder," said Keatinge. NO SIMPLE SOLUTION In the end, squeezing the group's finances will involve a mixture of intelligence and force. Ending the group's control of a given area using military might would remove its ability to raise local taxes, for example. Tracking smuggling routes or Gulf donors, in contrast, would involve local informants. Khatteeb, who is also the director of the Iraq Energy Institute, says Turkey must clamp down on oil smuggling routes through southern Turkey. This would dent a revenue stream Islamic State has used to fund a significant recruitment drive. "Turkish authorities (need) to really pay attention in closing down these markets, put more work in intelligence and enforce the rule of law." In an op-ed last month published in the New York Times Patrick Johnston and Benjamin Bahney of the RAND Corporation argued that strategies that focused on sanctioning international financial activities were unlikely to be effective. The authors say that "the terrorist group's bookkeepers, its oil business and cash holdings" should be the targets of greater intelligence and scrutiny to help "disrupt ISIS's financing and provide additional intelligence on its inner workings." Johnston told Reuters that even with the rapid expansion of Islamic State and its need to pay a larger number of recruits, the group could still make an estimated $100-$200 million surplus this year, given the amount of money it is making. "They're making more money, they have less opposition militarily ... the question is what are they going to do with it?" (Additional reporting by Ned Parker in Baghdad, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, John Irish in Paris, Mahmoud Harby, David French and Ahmed Hagagy in Kuwait; Writing by Yara Bayoumy, Editing by William Maclean and Janet McBride) =============== Fear of Islamic State make Gulf monarchies set aside differences AFP | September 01, 2014, 13.09 pm IST Share inShare0Printer-friendly version Send by email Wary of spectacular gains made by Islamic State jihadists, the oil-rich monarchies fear the militants could advance towards their own borders, where the extreme ideologies could find support. (Photo: AP) Wary of spectacular gains made by Islamic State jihadists, the oil-rich monarchies fear the militants could advance towards their own borders, where the extreme ideologies could find support. (Photo: AP) Dubai: Advances by jihadists in Syria and Iraq, and US calls for a coalition against them have made Gulf monarchies set aside disputes over Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, analysts say. Wary of spectacular gains made by Islamic State jihadists, the oil-rich monarchies fear the militants could advance towards their own borders, where the extreme ideologies could find support. "The biggest danger (in the Gulf) comes now from these (emerging) terrorist groups, and not from the Muslim Brotherhood," said Abdulaziz Sager, head of the Gulf Research Centre think-tank. Qatar's relations with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain sank to a new low in March when the three governments withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, accusing it of meddling in their affairs and supporting the Brotherhood designated as "terrorist" by Riyadh. For Sager, the UAE was "the strictest" against Qatar among the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash wrote on Twitter Sunday that his country's interest lies "in a strong Arab Gulf... sheltered from regional differences." Speaking to reporters following a meeting of Gulf Arab foreign ministers, Kuwait's top diplomat Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah said that the six-months spat with Qatar was on its way to being resolved. He said the ambassadors could return to their posts "at any time", without giving a specific date. The announcement came as Saudi King Abdullah underscored the threat posed by jihadists unless there is "rapid" action. "Terrorism knows no border and its danger could affect several countries outside the Middle East," Abdullah was quoted as telling ambassadors, including the US envoy, on Friday. "If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month," he warned. Saudi Arabia follows a strict version of Islamic sharia law. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers who took part in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States were from the kingdom. Saudi authorities have long feared blowback from jihadist groups, particularly after a spate of Al-Qaeda attacks in the kingdom from 2003 to 2006. IS beliefs supported in Gulf Kuwaiti political analyst Ayed al-Manaa agrees that "we now have a fear which is much bigger than the differences in foreign policies, with IS taking over one third of Syria and Iraq". "IS as an ideology is not only present in (Iraq and Syria). It is present in our countries and is waiting for the opportunity to appear," said Manaa. "The political disputes (with Qatar) are no longer a priority... We live in danger from northeast Syria and northwest Iraq. This is an alarm bell for GCC nations to end their differences." GCC states on Saturday said they are ready to act "against terrorist threats that face the region and the world". The foreign ministers of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE the six GCC states also pledged a readiness to fight "terrorist ideology which is contrary to Islam". However, "we are waiting for more details to understand what is needed" for the coalition proposed by US President Barack Obama, said Sabah. Obama said he was developing a broad plan that would involve military, diplomatic and regional efforts to defeat the IS jihadists who have sown terror through crucifixions and gruesome beheadings. Obama said he would dispatch US Secretary of State John Kerry to the Middle East to discuss the plan with regional allies, including the Gulf Arab states. Regional expert Frederic Wehrey said that "the GCC does not have the capacity for real expeditionary military operations outside the Gulf. "The question is what military value would they bring beyond the symbolic legitimacy of Arab participation," said Wehrey of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Sagar agrees, pointing out that the participation of GCC leader Saudi Arabia, would be limited to "intelligence" and the kingdom's "ability in influencing public opinion in the Muslim world." Saudi Arabia's top cleric has already branded Al-Qaeda and IS jihadists as "enemy number one" of Islam and warned young Muslims to steer clear of "calls for jihad" issued on "perverted" grounds. ================================ http://www.zemtv.com/2014/08/31/dunya-news-special-transmission-azadi-inqilab-march-10pm-to-11pm-31st-august-2014/ Aaila Ji qadry aur pagal khan amrica ke aur yhoodyuon ke ajent hen jo pakistan ko iraq afghanistan lyebia aur serya bnana chahty hen .aur china se pakistan ke dostana taluqat ko khrab krna in ka mission he.pak army aur 20 kror awam mil kr is aalmy sazsh ko nakam bnayen gye IS wqt aalmy stah pr IMF KE muqabley main china rusia india aur brazil ne mil kr aik nya aalmy bank [brick]bnaya he qadry aur pagal khan amrica ke aur yhoodyuon ke ajent hen jo pakistan ko iraq afghanistan lyebia aur serya bnana chahty hen .aur china se pakistan ke dostana taluqat ko khrab krna in ka mission he.pak army aur 20 kror awam mil kr is aalmy sazsh ko nakam bnayen gye ============ Pakistan protests ease as rival leaders seek negotiated settlement Wed, Sep 03 03:36 AM EDT image 1 of 5 By Maria Golovnina ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Rival Pakistani politicians on Wednesday explored the possibility of a negotiated solution to weeks of protests aimed at the removal of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that eased after turning violent at the weekend. Thousands had tried to storm Sharif's house in protests led by former cricket star Imran Khan and firebrand cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, destabilizing the coup-prone nation. But by Wednesday, only a few hundred people were camped out outside parliament in the high-security Red Zone area in the center of the capital Islamabad, with the army protecting key government installations. Sharif has refused to step down, while protest leaders have rejected his calls to come to the negotiating table, creating a dangerous deadlock and prompting fears the military might seize power. But in the latest twist, Khan and Qadri agreed to talk to a committee of opposition politicians seeking to mediate between the government and the protesters and help find a political solution. "The entire nation is disturbed by the ongoing crisis," Siraj-ul-Haq, a conservative Islamist politician leading the mediation effort, said. "(Khan's party) has accepted our request (to hold talks) with an open heart and we are thankful to them." The crisis has taken many turns since protests broke out in mid-August, subsiding at times and erupting in violence again, with most commentators saying it was too early to say whether a negotiated solution was in sight. Violent scenes in the usually quiet capital have alarmed many people in a nation where power has often changed hands though military coups rather than elections, with some officials accusing the military of orchestrating the protests as a way of sidelining or even toppling Sharif - a charge it denies. Few commentators think the army is bent on seizing power again but even if Sharif survives, he would emerge significantly weakened and likely play second-fiddle to the army on key security and foreign policy issues. On Tuesday, parliament threw its weight behind Sharif who has convened a week-long joint session of the chamber where he enjoys a solid majority following last year's landslide election victory. He chaired another session in parliament on Wednesday when more lawmakers were expected to deliver speeches in his support. (Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Nick Macfie) ===================== An Egyptian man lights a flare in Cairo, April 2, 2011. (photo by REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh) Tangled web of alliances emerges as Middle East divides into blocs The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 was vital for the restructuring of alliances in the Middle East. That is when the foundations for what were then the two main blocs in the region were laid, leading the way toward a new order that divided the region between pro-US and anti-US countries. Summary⎙ Print The Middle East is divided into three blocs, but all have a common enemy in the Islamic State. Author Ali Hashem Posted September 2, 2014 The fall of Saddam Hussein, the heightened and continuous Israeli-Palestinian crisis, Hezbollah’s rise in Lebanon amid the liberation of south Lebanon and the Syrian-Iranian alliance were all aspects forming the landscape of the resistance and resilience bloc; it raised anti-US mottos and gained grassroots popularity for expressing stances that tickled the dreams of a public that had suffered waves of disappointments during the past half a century. This bloc brought together Islamists, nationalists, leftists and anarchists; it connected Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance factions (for example, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine). On the other side of the stage, the moderation bloc addressed the region with what it called realism. This grouping was ready for peace with Israel and had excellent ties with the West, mainly the United States, attracting the liberal elites, ex-leftists, Wahhabi Islamists and businessmen. The bloc presented itself as the only partner the West and the United States could rely on in the region in facing the axis of resistance; it brought under its umbrella Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the Palestinian authority, Morocco, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Egypt, along with other minor countries that were on the sidelines of the events. The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14, 2005, was a turning point in the relations between the two axes. The moderation bloc, directly and indirectly, accused the Syrian regime of responsibility for the massive truck bomb that ripped apart the Lebanese capital and saw 22 people die along with Hariri. A year and half later, the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel widened the rift. Saudi Arabia accused Hezbollah of launching "uncalculated adventures" that precipitated the latest Middle East crisis. Amid the 2006 war, Qatar entered the resistance axis amid a campaign of support that it led on the diplomatic front, besides the extensive pro-Hezbollah coverage on the new Qatari-owned TV network Al Jazeera. Until March 15, 2011, the map of alliances in the region remained unchanged; however, from the moment people in Syria took to the streets, the resistance bloc started to show cracks. In a few months, Qatar and Turkey both wound up completely on the opposite side of the resistance bloc, though not with the moderation bloc. Before the Syrian revolution, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain and Tunisia also saw people calling for freedom, where people took to the streets in a phenomenon that came to be known as the Arab Spring. In Egypt, Libya and Tunisia the Muslim Brotherhood helped lead the change, with obvious Qatari support. An unannounced Muslim Brotherhood bloc was formed with the patronage of both Qatar and Turkey; the latter had some issues to settle with the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood. Ankara refrained from providing support against then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, despite its decision later to give full support to the revolution in Syria and to post-revolution Egypt. The Palestinian resistance group Hamas was also part of the coalition, yet it showed a bit of uncertainty by keeping one leg in the resistance and resilience bloc. In Libya the Islamists lost the election, while in Tunisia they lost their influence after a comeback by leftists and nationalists, without being removed from power, while in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood was toppled after the June 30, 2013, demonstrations that led to the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood-backed Cabinet. Qatar, Turkey and Hamas once again found themselves alone with greater pressure from the moderation bloc, given the historic rivalry between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. Attempts to recast the resistance bloc were made and pressure was exerted, but many differences blocked confidence building, mainly due to the ongoing bloodshed in Syria. Turkey, Qatar and Hamas built their own bloc, which enjoyed strong influence in the region thanks to its effective media reach and the influence the Muslim Brotherhood still has on the ground in several areas around the region. The revolution turned into a civil war in Syria, reflecting the iron bond that brought together Syria, Iran and Hezbollah. Later, with the spillover of the Syrian crisis into Iraq, Baghdad became the fourth pillar of this bloc, maintaining what Jordan's King Abdullah once described as the Shiite crescent. The grouping changed its name from the resistance and resilience bloc to the resistance and confrontation bloc, a clear indication of the strategy the bloc decided to adopt. Tehran, Damascus and Baghdad, along with Hezbollah, reiterated their accusations against the Qatari-Turkish bloc and the moderation bloc of backing the militants in Syria and Iraq; meanwhile, the other blocs continued to accuse the resistance bloc of committing crimes in Syria and Iraq. After the removal of Morsi as president, the moderation bloc regained Egypt, while retaining control over Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. The monarchies showed immunity toward change, except for Bahrain and the eastern parts of Saudi Arabia, yet this wasn’t a game-changing element. Riyadh and Manama accused Iran of fueling the uprising by giving support to the opposition. Iran’s media played a vital role in showing the world what was happening in Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia, though there was no solid proof that its support involved anything more than media coverage. With a seeming maximum number of conflicts and crises, a new Middle East order has taken form. The new scenario sees three main blocs fighting each other on several fronts, with each looking to weaken its foes to prevail. The fact is that all three blocs are today facing a tougher enemy that poses a threat to all of them. The Islamic State (IS), which each bloc accuses the other of backing, supporting and financing, seems to be watching the struggle for victory among the warring sides with much content and happiness — for the more they fight and weaken each other, the greater the odds are for IS to prevail. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/region-blocs-new-middle-east-order.html##ixzz3CJExnorG ============================= EXPERT VIEWS: Is Islamic State a flash in the pan? Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Wed, 27 Aug 2014 16:00 GMT Author: Alex Whiting More news from our correspondents hum-war hum-peo hum-aid Enlarge image Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate August 10, 2014. REUTERS/Rodi Said Tweet Recommend Google + LinkedIn Email Print Leave us a comment LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Is Islamic State a flash in the pan, or is it here for the long term? What impact is its expansion in Iraq having on the war in Syria, and the region as a whole? Thomson Reuters Foundation asked three experts for their views: Nigel Inkster is director of transnational threats and political risk at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, chair of the World Economic Forum’s committee on terrorism, and former director for operations and intelligence at MI6; Noah Bonsey is International Crisis Group’s senior analyst on Syria, based in Lebanon; and Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, and a student at Oxford University. Islamic State (IS) was formerly called ISIS. It took control of key Iraqi cities like Mosul and Fallujah as part of a broad coalition of groups earlier this year, but it went it alone when it expanded into Kurdistan. 1. Is IS a flash in the pan, or is it here for the long term? Nigel Inkster: Obviously we can’t know for certain, but I’m inclined to think it’s going to be around for some while to come. I think that what we’ve got here is one manifestation of what quite a few analysts have been thinking ... since before 9/11, (that) it’s a generational issue that is going to take a generation, maybe more, to work through. It may mutate, it may take different forms ... but it’s really in many ways the latest manifestation of a jihadist ideology that’s been evolving for quite a few years now. Noah Bonsey: It’s not a flash in the pan. This is a group that has been around in one form or another since the U.S. invasion of Iraq (in 2003). The question is, how big and how powerful will they remain? And that will depend largely on choices made by IS opponents within Iraq, within Syria and by the United States, and regional states who oppose it. In Iraq you have rising animosity among many of ISIS’s Sunni opponents, including (those) that initially welcomed ISIS’s advance against the Iraqi government. But it’s not yet at a stage where it would be easy for an external actor such as the United States to exploit, and so that situation will likely develop. You don’t have an American strategy to deal with Iraq and Syria, or even the ISIS problem within Iraq and Syria, and other actors in the region similarly lack a strategy. What’s important to remember when talking about the region as a whole, is you have to keep in mind the level and extent of political division in this region right now. You have multiple fault lines where tensions are very high. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: I talk about a timescale of years, rather than over the next year or so ... they’ve amassed so much resources, so much territory, so much manpower now. Other insurgent groups (in Iraq) ... are completely unwilling to confront Islamic State ... And the longer they put off confronting IS, the more IS’s power is going to grow and they really face the situation where they could end up like the rebels in Syria in various areas ... where they are confined to marginal resistance. The Naqshbandi Army (a Baathist group in Mosul which is the second most influential group in the Iraqi Sunni insurgency) don’t even want to mention the Islamic State by name in their statements. They go so far as to blame the blowing up of shrines on the “sectarian government”, referring to the central government in Baghdad, and they seem to want to pretend Islamic State doesn’t exist. 2. Will IS be able to hold onto the territory it controls? Nigel Inkster: Possibly not. At the end of the day this was always more about politics in Iraq than anything else. And a lot of the rise of Islamic State was a function of some very dysfunctional politics that were taking place within Baghdad – very, very sectarian and very exclusionary policies have alienated significant constituencies, and it remains to be seen whether, now that (former prime minister) Nuri al-Maliki who was the architect of these policies has stepped aside, something better may take their place. That I think is going to be key to addressing this problem. If we talk about Islamic State ... we’re talking about a hard core of jihadists, but we’re also talking about a pragmatic coalition of disenchanted groups who have attached themselves to Islamic State, more than anything out of despair with the politics of Iraq. And it’s certainly true that Islamic State has taken a lot of territory and commands more real estate and resources than any other Islamist group has yet managed to do, how durable that will prove to be is an interesting question. I suspect actually to some extent it will, because Islamic State achieved a high degree of penetration in cities like Mosul before they actually physically occupied them. There had been a lot of subversion, a lot of extortion taking place within Mosul by Islamic State or the predecessor organisation (ISIS). They’ve tried with some effect to provide some services to the populations they now control, and they’ve not done too badly in some respects, albeit from a pretty low base of expectation. So it’s possible they will be able to maintain some of the territory they’ve occupied. I don’t think all of it. Noah Bonsey: At times it’s easy for us to overstate IS’s power because people look at maps and they see this giant swath (in Syria and Iraq) that’s controlled by IS. Well a lot of that area is sparsely populated, and in general much of IS’s power comes from the weakness in terms of organisation, in terms of arms ... among its opponents. For that reason I think it’s important to take IS seriously but also we don’t want to exaggerate its military capabilities. Even if we assume that that number (of 15,000 to 25,000 IS fighters) is accurate, there is such a dramatic range not just in the level of training and efficiency, but also in the level of commitment to the group and to the cause within those ranks … We’re not talking about a level of manpower that is immovable or irresistible. 3. Given there’s a coalition of rebel groups fighting IS in Syria, and government forces and militias in Iraq, plus Turkish PKK fighters and Western airstrikes, what chance does IS have? Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: They (IS) are very militarily effective, they have advanced weaponry and equipment, they have co-opted people, they span borders. Each of these actors in themselves prove themselves insufficient on a number of counts. The Syrian rebels have their own problems of divisions within their ranks, the fact that they’re fighting on multiple fronts as well, and that their priority is very much for example on making sure that Aleppo doesn’t fall to (Syrian President Assad’s) regime, they don’t have the manpower to push eastwards and retake substantial bits of IS territory. Militarily the (Iraqi) army is quite incompetent at urban warfare, the Shia militia really aren’t much better either. They have been fighting in areas like the surroundings of Fallujah and Tikrit for months now but they still haven’t dislodged IS from either. So really I think the key issue is the IS would have to break up internally. There could be a number of scenarios that could trigger that – let’s say (IS leader) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi got killed, there’s a very big question of who would succeed him. Other Sunni insurgents in Iraq really do have to turn against IS as soon as possible and have a coordinated effort against them, and there’s no sign of that happening at the moment and the longer they put that off – if they do plan to fight IS – then the worse it will become. Ultimately the IS is ruling a failed state. They might be the world’s richest terrorist group, but they are one of the world’s poorest states. They’re ruling a vast population spanning borders and it’s not like they have the resources to improve quality of life in a substantial way. But also you would really need to have internal breaking up of the IS from within, or someone is going to have to put troops on the ground to deal with this problem – it’s not going to go away through air strikes, and arming those you want to support. 4. Has IS lost wider Sunni support in Iraq as a result of the atrocities it has committed? Nigel Inkster: These (atrocities) in and of themselves may not necessarily alienate populations depending on what else happens (and whether their own needs are being met), which at the moment to some extent they are. I suspect at the end of the day, Islamic State policies will end up alienating substantial sections of the population they’re aspiring to control, but we’ll have to see. I don’t think we should assume that a re-run of the 2007 Anbar awakening (a rebellion of Sunni tribes against al Qaeda in Iraq) is likely to happen, because the conditions that made that possible simply don’t exist any more in the form of a very substantial U.S. military commitment. If it does happen I suspect it is likely to be more piecemeal this time around. It probably will happen at some point, there are signs it already is in some areas. We have to bear in mind that a lot of the effect of Islamic State has been psychological through a very carefully thought out and executed media campaign (to spread fear). Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: Some of those who might have welcomed them into Mosul, for example, have regrets now when they see IS blow up shrines and things like this. On the other hand, (IS) can intimidate people, but they can also co-opt people with some forms of social outreach ... distribution of gifts during Eid, provisions of meat and other commodities. 5. How has IS’s expansion in Iraq affected the war in Syria? Nigel Inkster: They’ve established a significant presence within the northeast of (Syria). But there they are much more one of a number of contending parties, and it’s not axiomatic that they have or can expect to continue to have the upper hand. And we’ve now seen that an Assad regime that was broadly content to let these jihadist groups run on the basis that they proved the essential Assad argument that this was a fight against jihadist extremists, we’ve now seen the Syrian state starting to attack IS positions in Syria for the first time. I think that the Iranians will simply not let the Assad regime fold ... The Syria we had before 2011 has gone and it’s not coming back, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Assad will be driven out or lose territory to the point where his regime is no longer tenable. Noah Bonsey: Its gains in Iraq have fuelled subsequent gains in Syria to the extent that it was able to defeat a pretty strong alliance of rebel forces throughout the province of Deir al-Zor within the space of a few weeks. IS is now fighting to expand westward, fighting to take back areas north of Aleppo that they had lost. There’s no question that gains in Iraq have strengthened the group overall and helped fuel its expansion in Syria. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: It’s really reinforced the break-up of the country. The rebels in particular are now by far the weakest force. They are suffering a huge amount of fragmentation. For example, the Islamic Front is pretty much on the verge of collapse. Assad doesn’t have the ability to crush (IS). He doesn’t have sufficient manpower ... He could crush the rebels in the west of Syria and re-take Aleppo, but he couldn’t re-conquer the entirety of Syria. 6. Is there a danger that the conflict will spread to Turkey? Nigel Inkster: In a situation of such instability as we’ve now got, pretty much anything is possible. But I think that Turkey probably has the capacity to keep this within bounds – it certainly has got the technical capability to do it. I think again it’s going to be more about politics. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: Not yet. IS know that many of the goods (basic commodities) they end up distributing come in via the Turkish border, and they wouldn’t want to disrupt that ... Although they took Turkish hostages in the Mosul area, there is no evidence that they want to start attacking Turkish territory yet. There are charity organisations that for the sake of humanitarian services go into IS territory to distribute things to locals, and IS doesn’t interfere with that. 7. What impact is IS having on the region as a whole? Nigel Inkster: One of the things that IS has majored on and very, very consciously emphasised in their own propaganda is the end of the Sykes-Picot era, the destruction of that line on a map. And I think the geography of this region looks as if it is going to be rearranged for better or worse. Effectively I think that the Kurdish region has become more autonomous, less attracted to remaining part of Iraq, I think the Shia and the Sunni (in Iraq) are more alienated from one another than before, and the post-World War One borders I don’t think are coming back. What does that mean? Very hard to say. But what I think it means is a very fluid and very messy situation which is going to take quite some time to settle down. ===== In northeast Syria, Islamic State builds a government Thu, Sep 04 01:38 AM EDT image By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - In the cities and towns across the desert plains of northeast Syria, the ultra-hardline al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State has insinuated itself into nearly every aspect of daily life. The group famous for its beheadings, crucifixions and mass executions provides electricity and water, pays salaries, controls traffic, and runs nearly everything from bakeries and banks to schools, courts and mosques. While its merciless battlefield tactics and its imposition of its austere vision of Islamic law have won the group headlines, residents say much of its power lies in its efficient and often deeply pragmatic ability to govern. Syria's eastern province of Raqqa provides the best illustration of their methods. Members hold up the province as an example of life under the Islamic "caliphate" they hope will one day stretch from China to Europe. In the provincial capital, a dust-blown city that was home to about a quarter of a million people before Syria's three-year-old war began, the group leaves almost no institution or public service outside of its control. "Let us be honest, they are doing massive institutional work. It is impressive," one activist from Raqqa who now lives in a border town in Turkey told Reuters. In interviews conducted remotely, residents, Islamic State fighters and even activists opposed to the group described how it had built up a structure similar to a modern government in less than a year under its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Reuters journalists are unable to visit the area for security reasons. The group's progress has alarmed regional and Western powers - last month U.S. President Barack Obama called it a "cancer" that must be erased from the Middle East as U.S. warplanes bombarded its positions in Iraq. But Islamic State has embedded itself so thoroughly into the fabric of life in places like Raqqa that it will be all but impossible for U.S. aircraft - let alone Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish troops - to uproot them through force alone. BRIDE OF THE REVOLUTION Last year, Raqqa became the first city to fall to the rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. They called it the "Bride of the Revolution." A variety of rebel groups ranging from hardline Islamists to religious moderates held sway in the city, although Islamists clearly dominated. Within a year, Islamic State had clawed its way into control, mercilessly eliminating rival insurgents. Activists critical of the group were killed, disappeared, or escaped to Turkey. Alcohol was banned. Shops closed by afternoon and streets were empty by nightfall. Communication with the outside world - including nearby cities and towns - was allowed only through the Islamic State media center. Those rebels and activists who stayed largely "repented", a process through which they pledge loyalty to Baghdadi and are forgiven for their "sins" against the Islamic State, and either kept to their homes or joined the group's ranks. But after the initial crackdown, the group began setting up services and institutions - stating clearly that it intended to stay and use the area as a base in its quest to eradicate national boundaries and establish an Islamic "state". "We are a state," one emir, or commander, in the province told Reuters. "Things are great here because we are ruling based on God's law." Some Sunni Muslims who worked for Assad's government stayed on after they pledged allegiance to the group. "The civilians who do not have any political affiliations have adjusted to the presence of Islamic State, because people got tired and exhausted, and also, to be honest, because they are doing institutional work in Raqqa," one Raqqa resident opposed to Islamic State told Reuters. Since then, the group "has restored and restructured all the institutions that are related to services," including a consumer protection office and the civil judiciary, the resident said. BRUTALITY AND PRAGMATISM In the past month alone, Islamic State fighters have broadcast images of themselves beheading U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff as well as captive Kurdish and Lebanese soldiers, and machine-gunning scores of Syrian prisoners wearing nothing but their underwear. But the group's use of violence has not been entirely indiscriminate. The group has often traded with businessmen loyal to Assad when it has suited its interests, for instance. According to one fighter, a former Assad employee is now in charge of mills and distributing flour to bakeries in Raqqa. Employees at the Raqqa dam, which provides the city with electricity and water, have remained in their posts. Islamic State's willingness to use former Assad employees displays a pragmatism residents and activists say has been vital to its success holding onto territory it has captured. They have been helped by experts who have come from countries including in North Africa and Europe. The man Baghdadi appointed to run and develop Raqqa's telecoms, for instance, is a Tunisian with a PhD in the subject who left Tunisia to join the group and serve "the state". Reflecting Islamic State's assertion that it is a government - rather than simply a militant group that happens to govern - Baghdadi has also separated military operations from civilian administration, assigning fighters only as police and soldiers Instead, Baghdadi has appointed civilian deputies called walis, an Islamic term describing an official similar to a minister, to manage institutions and develop their sectors. Administrative regions are divided into waliyehs, or provinces, which sometimes align with existing divisions but, as with the case of the recently established al-Furat province, can span national boundaries. Fighters and employees receive a salary from a department called the Muslim Financial House, which is something like a finance ministry and a bank that aims to reduce poverty. Fighters receive housing - including in homes confiscated from local non-Sunnis or from government employees who fled the area - as well as about $400 to $600 per month, enough to pay for a basic lifestyle in Syria's poor northeast. One fighter said poor families were given money. A widow may receive $100 for herself and for each child she has, he said. Prices are also kept low. Traders who manipulate prices are punished, warned and shut down if they are caught again. The group has also imposed Islamic taxes on wealthy traders and families. "We are only implementing Islam, zakat is an Islamic tax imposed by God," said a jihadi in Raqqa. Analysts estimate that Islamic State also raises tens of millions of dollars by selling oil from the fields it controls in Syria and Iraq to Turkish and Iraqi businessmen and by collecting ransoms for hostages it has taken. BAGHDADI CALLS THE SHOTS At the heart of the Islamic State system is its leader, Baghdadi, who in June declared himself "caliph", or ruler of all the world's Muslims, after breaking with al Qaeda. Residents, fighters and activists agree Baghdadi is now heavily involved in Raqqa's administration, and has the final word on all decisions made by commanders and officials. Even the prices set for local goods go back to him, local sources say. Residents say Baghdadi also approves beheadings and other executions and punishments for criminals convicted by the group's Islamic courts. On the battlefield, fighters describe him as a fierce and experienced commander. The Syrian fighter said Baghdadi led major battles, such as one to retake a Syrian military base known as Division 17 in July, the first in a series of defeats the group dealt to Syrian government forces in Raqqa province. "He does not leave the brothers. In the battle to retake Division 17 he was also slightly wounded but he is fine now," the fighter said. "He is always moving. He does not stay in one place. He moves between Raqqa, Deir al-Zor and Mosul. He leads the battles." NEXT GENERATION JIHAD Although pragmatism has been a key to the group's success, ideology is also vital to the group's rule. By declaring the caliphate and setting up a "state", Baghdadi aimed to attract foreign jihadis and experts from abroad. Supporters say thousands have responded. At the same time, wealthy Islamists from across the world have sent money to Raqqa to support the caliphate, jihadis say. According to sources in Raqqa, the group maintains three weapons factories mainly designed to develop missiles. Foreign scientists - including Muslims from China, fighters claim - are kept in a private location with bodyguards. "Scientists and men with degrees are joining the State," said one Arab jihadi. The group has also invested heavily in the next generation by inducting children into their ideology. Primary, secondary and university programs now include more about Islam. The group also accepts women who want to fight - they are trained about "the real Islam" and the reasons for fighting. Islamic education groups are held in mosques for newly arrived fighters, who, according to militants in Raqqa, have flocked to Islamic State-controlled territory in even greater numbers since Baghdadi declared the "caliphate". "Every three days we receive at least 1,000 fighters. The guest houses are flooding with mujahideen. We are running out of places to receive them," the Arab jihadi said. (Editing by Alexander Dziadosz and Giles Elgood) === Islamic State kidnaps 40 men in Iraq's Kirkuk region: residents Thu, Sep 04 10:20 AM EDT image BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants kidnapped 40 men from a town in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk on Thursday, dragging the men into cars before driving off, residents said. Residents of the Sunni Muslim town of Hawija said by telephone they did not know why the men had been taken, from a district on the edge of the town. They added that Islamic State, which controls Hawija, had not faced any resistance from its inhabitants. Islamic State has seized hundreds of Iraqi and Syrian soldiers as well as members of other insurgent groups, journalists and civilians. Some have been sold for ransom and others have been killed. The group launched a lightning advance through northern and central Iraq in June, declaring an Islamic caliphate. With the help of U.S. air strikes, Iraq's army and Kurdish forces have been able to push the fighters back from some areas. The Ministry of Defense said on Thursday on state television Iraqi forces had killed three "leaders" of Islamic State in three separate attacks on Mosul and Tel Afar in the north. (Reporting by Raheem Salman and Oliver Holmes; editing by Andrew Roche)

Islamic state killed 270 during Syrian gas field takeover: join us as fighters or stay at home and out of our way

Islamic State crushes and coerces on march towards Baghdad Tue, Jul 22 03:31 AM EDT image 1 of 3 By Maggie Fick and Isra' al-Rubei'i BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Using its own version of "soft" and "hard" power, the Islamic State is crushing resistance across northern Iraq so successfully that its promise to march on Baghdad may no longer be unrealistic bravado. While conventional states try to win hearts and minds abroad before necessarily resorting to military force, the jihadist group is also achieving its aims by psychological means - backed up by a reputation for extreme violence. The Islamic State, which in June captured a vast stretch of territory in the north including the largest city Mosul, used this strategy when its fighters met armed resistance from the town of al-Alam for 13 days running. They kidnapped 30 local families and rang up the town's most influential citizens with a simple message about the hostages: "You know their destiny if you don't let us take over the town." Within hours, tribesmen and local leaders caved in to save the families. The black flag of the Sunni militants, who are bent on overthrowing the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government, was soon flying over government buildings and police stations in al-Alam. Weeks later, only a few masked gunmen guard checkpoints surrounding al-Alam at night, so comfortable is the Islamic State in its control through fear. "One hundred percent of people are angry that the Islamic State is here but there is nothing we can do," said a scared resident who spoke by telephone on condition of anonymity. Similar accounts of victories by the Islamic State, which has also seized territory in neighboring Syria during the civil war there, are repeated across other towns and villages in Salahuddin province north of Baghdad. Hostility to the jihadis in some of the majority Sunni areas - where from 2006 to 2008 local people fought al Qaeda in Iraq, the Islamic State's predecessor - has not stopped them from taking and holding territory. Breaking the will of local populations has allowed the relatively small force to surge south, focusing their fight most recently on battlefields just 70 km (45 miles) from Baghdad. The fighters have boosted their arms and equipment along the way, making the seizure of weapons and vehicles a condition of deals struck with communities they have coerced into submission. SWELLING RANKS U.S. military and Iraqi security officials estimate the Islamic State has at least 3,000 fighters in Iraq, rising towards 20,000 when new recruits since last month's blitzkrieg are included. Some Sunni communities still refuse to make common cause with the Islamist hardliners. But anger with Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government has encouraged some Sunni armed groups to stick with the Islamic State since they seized Mosul on June 10, according to officials and tribal leaders. "(The Islamic State) has become the face to this uprising or insurgency," said Masrour Barzani, head of the Kurdish region's National Security Council. Other groups opposed to Baghdad have joined the Islamic State, attracted by its recent successes. "They believed in the concept of the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Barzani said. Some allied Sunni armed groups have taken control of communities initially beaten into submission by the Islamic State, said Sunni Sheikh Wissam Hardan, a veteran anti-Qaeda fighter. "(The Islamic State) is depending on sleeper cells they have to hold the areas, and the Islamic Army, Mujahideen Army and the Naqshbandi are now waving the same flag and cooperating," he said. Sunni fighters with extensive experience fighting first American forces and then al Qaeda appear to be putting aside ideological differences with the Islamic State, at least for now, to pursue a common goal. The militants remain far outnumbered by government forces, which have been bolstered by as many as tens of thousands of Shi'ite militia members plus ordinary volunteers who responded to a call to arms from Iraq's most influential cleric. But the presence of militias has helped the Islamic State as armed Sunni factions close ranks against the hardline Shi’ite groups, whom they accuse of carrying out sectarian killings. The battered state of the Iraqi military and the growing Sunni-Shi’ite sectarian divide have also benefited the Islamic State as it challenges Baghdad's control of towns such as Dhuluiya, only a couple of hours' drive from the capital. "MOVING FAST" When Islamic State gunmen roared into Dhuluiya in a long convoy of trucks and stolen military vehicles, they went to local leaders of the Jabour tribe with a message: join us as fighters or stay at home and out of our way. "We have no problem with you, our main goal is to take Baghdad," they supposedly told the community leaders, according to several residents. That goal did not sit well with the people of Dhuluiya, many of whom had resisted the U.S. invasion in 2003 but later joined the Americans in fighting al Qaeda. About 2,000 locals volunteered to fight alongside the police to keep the militants from overrunning the town and stealing weapons and vehicles. Control of the town has changed hands several times during weeks of fighting between the militants and the police, joined by locals and occasionally government reinforcements. "I have no faith in the government forces," said a resident who joined the police for a while but gave up last week. He sent his wife and three children to a nearby village and is staying with his brother to protect their shops. An estimated 1,000 men, many of them volunteers who joined government forces only recently, arrived last week from the Shi'ite holy shrine city of Samarra to reinforce the local people fighting alongside the police. But the resident said they were no match for the jihadis. "I know they are not capable of fighting the Islamic State," he said. When the Islamic State fighters melted away temporarily, the government forces and volunteers pulled out too, heading back south to the battlefield around Samarra, thus encouraging the return of the militants. "They are not making any progress while the Islamic State is moving fast," the man said. PUNISHING CAMPAIGNS Residents that have not fled the violence seem increasingly resigned to the idea that Dhuluiya will fall to the militants. A new, particularly punishing phase of the Islamic State's campaign appears to have begun over the weekend. Writing on an affiliated Twitter account on Saturday, the Islamic State wrote that it was hitting the town and the "apostate" residents still remaining there with 82- and 120-mm mortars. Local police said militants fired 50-60 mortar rounds at the town overnight on Saturday, killing a woman and child. The Islamic State has taken a similarly heavy-handed approach to quell opposition elsewhere in Salahuddin province. Further north in the village of Zowiya, wedged between the Tigris river and a small mountain range, the Islamic State launched a daylong ground assault backed by heavy shelling last week, all but leveling the community after locals tried to mobilize. Memories of the struggle against al Qaeda, when Sunni tribesmen in the U.S.-backed "Sahwa" movement pushed the group out, gave some residents there hope that they could succeed in keeping the Islamic State from imposing its rule on Zowiya. "We confronted them several times and we were always the winner in those years," said a resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. Not so last week. The first wave of militants that tried to storm Zowiya was hit by locals hiding in the mountains, several residents said. But soon thousands were running for their lives when the Islamic State began firing mortars from across the river. As many as 200 homes and the main police station went up in flames. "We were promised some reinforcements by the (Salahuddin province) governor and police chief but unfortunately promises were not kept," said another local who told Reuters he and fellow residents fought until their ammunition ran out. More than 20 Zowiya residents were killed, members of the community said. The death toll among the militants was not clear, though residents estimated it to be in the dozens. AN OFFER TO THOSE WHO "REPENT" The Islamic State put its flags on top of the government buildings in Zowiya that had not been destroyed, but since then the fighters have mainly kept to two checkpoints at the entrances to the town, residents say. Government employees are still allowed to work at health clinics or power stations, although security officials have not returned. Residents also report that the militants are allowing anyone who "repents" to visit the home of a local sheikh who hosts a representative of the Islamic State on Fridays after midday prayers. Those who admit they were wrong to resist the group and who pledge their allegiance receive a sheet of paper stamped with a green "Islamic State" logo guaranteeing their safety. The minor presence is enough to keep the community from trying to rise up again, another resident suggested, saying locals believe the Islamic State made an example of Zowiya because its people tried to "break the rules of the Islamic State". (Additional reporting by a reporter in Salahuddin province whose name has been withheld for security reasons, Ned Parker in Arbil and Ahmed Rasheed and Raheem Salman in Baghdad; Writing by Maggie Fick; editing by David Stamp) ========= Sat, Jul 19 03:16 AM EDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Militant group Islamic State killed 270 soldiers, guards and staff when they captured a Syrian gas field on Thursday in the bloodiest clashes between the al Qaeda offshoot and President Bashar al-Assad's forces, a monitoring group said on Saturday. The anti-Assad Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Thursday that 90 people had been killed and that many were missing after the attack against the Sha'ar gas field east of Homs in central Syria. The Observatory, which monitors violence in Syria through a network of sources in the country on both sides, quoted "trusted sources" as saying on Saturday that the Islamic State had "killed and executed" 270 people during the assault. It said at least 40 Islamic State fighters were killed in the offensive. Islamic State has made rapid gains in Syria, mostly by seizing territory from rival rebel groups, using weaponry brought in from Iraq where last month it managed to take large areas from government forces. It was not immediately possible to verify the report. Syrian state media made no mention of the attack. About 30 people had managed to escape to the nearby Hajjar field, the Observatory report added. Activists say the Syrian air force has in recent weeks stepped up attacks on positions held by Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Islamic State has previously taken control of oilfields in Iraq as well as in Syria's eastern Deir al-Zor province. The group was once the Iraqi affiliate of al Qaeda, but al Qaeda disowned it in February after tensions mounted over its expansion into Syria. Islamic State has declared a "caliphate" in the areas where it operates in Iraq and Syria, which include the Syrian city of Raqqa as well as Iraq's Mosul. The Observatory says more than 170,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, which started as a peaceful protest movement in 2011 but descended into a multifaceted civil war after a government crackdown. (Reporting by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Minibus blast kills 21 in southern Syria: activists

Wed, Oct 16 10:13 AM EDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Twenty-one people, including four children and six women, were killed when a minibus hit a mine in the southern Syrian town of Noa on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. Opposition activists told the Observatory the minibus drove over a mine planted by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. There was no immediate comment from the government. The explosion was reported in rebel-held territory in Deraa province but there are also army troops in the nearby base of Tel al-Jumaa, which is besieged. Assad's forces are battling an uprising that grew out of protests against his family's four-decade grip on the country. Violence has continued in recent days despite pleas from Arab and Muslim organizations for a ceasefire to mark the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. The British-based Observatory, which is opposed to Assad, reported clashes in most provinces on Wednesday and said warplanes had been deployed to the eastern desert city of Deir al-Zor. The group said at least 27 government soldiers had been killed during intense clashes in Deir al-Zor over the past two days although rebels gave a figure more than double that. Pro- and anti-government militias have fragmented the country into fiefdoms, with hardline Islamist rebels fighting Kurds and other opposition groups. The Observatory reported that 29 jihadist fighters, some from the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and 12 Kurdish militants were killed during clashes on Tuesday in the northeast province of Hasaka. It is increasingly difficult for international aid workers to operate in the lawless rebel-held northern provinces. Six Red Cross workers and a colleague from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent were abducted on Sunday after delivering medical supplies in the northern province of Idlib. Four were released the next day. Aid workers say the Damascus government has also placed barriers on working in Syria such as rejecting visas or preventing convoys from entering certain areas. Syrians complain aid is not getting through to many areas of the country, especially to residents living in rebel-held territory who say the government is restricting access. ICRC spokesman Ewan Watson said that his group was asking "all authorities for access" to the besieged town of Mouadamiya southwest of Damascus, where he estimated 10,000 civilians were trapped. "We are concerned about the situation in the besieged town of Mouadamiya, under siege for 10 months. We have not been able to enter and suspect there are medical care needs and possibly of essential aid like food and water," he said in Geneva. (Reporting by Oliver Holmes in Beirut and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Syrian forces responsible for Banias massacres: U.N. report

Syrian forces responsible for Banias massacres: U.N. report Wed, Sep 11 11:11 AM EDT image By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. rights investigators have established that Syrian government forces were almost certainly responsible for two massacres last May in which up to 450 civilians were killed, a report published on Wednesday said. The report documented eight mass killings in all, attributing all but one to government forces, but said both government and rebel fighters had committed war crimes including murder, hostage-taking and shelling of civilians. With more than 100,000 dead in the Syrian war, there was little sign that reports of atrocities would spur international action until last month, when allegations that President Bashar al-Assad's forces had gassed hundreds of civilians sparked a threat of U.S. strikes, and furious international diplomacy. The killings in Baida and Ras al-Nabaa, two pockets of rebel sympathizers surrounded by villages loyal to Assad on the outskirts of the town of Banias, did not involve fighting with rebels and appeared designed to send a message of deterrence. The U.N. commission of inquiry has not been allowed into Syria, but its 20 investigators carried out 258 interviews with refugees, defectors and others, in the region and in Geneva, including via Skype, for their 11th report in two years. In Baida, it said between 150 and 250 civilians had allegedly been killed, including 30 women, apparently executed, who were found in one house. It said armed rebels were not active in the area at the time. "Testimonies were consistent that members of the National Defence Forces were actively involved in the raids and in many cases leading them," the 42-page report said. "Accordingly, there are reasonable grounds to believe that government forces and affiliated militias including the National Defence Forces are the perpetrators of the al-Bayda (Baida) massacre. The next day, as word spread that militia fighters were advancing with army support, hundreds of civilians tried to flee the neighboring village of Ras al-Nabaa, but were pushed back at checkpoints. Government forces proceeded to shell the village and then militia fighters moved in. "As they raided the village, civilians were captured and executed," the report said, adding: "The operation did not occur in the context of a military confrontation. Government forces were in full control of the area. It gave a figure of 150-200 dead in Ras al-Nabaa. GOVERNMENT SILENCE The Syrian government kept silent about the killings at the time but a Syrian intelligence officer, speaking to Reuters anonymously, acknowledged that the perpetrators were government loyalists, including some from the surrounding Alawite villages. The conflict began in March 2011 as an uprising against Assad and descended into a civil war where mostly Sunni Muslim rebels are pitted against Assad's forces, who are backed by Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Hezbollah. The only deliberate slaughter of civilians attributed to rebel forces in the period of investigation was in June, when rebels captured Hatla in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor. "Anti-government armed group fighters conducted home invasions, killing and summarily executing (by shooting at close range) many Shia including at least 30 civilians, among them children, women and elderly," the report said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition monitoring group that has reported abuses on both sides of the conflict, said at the time that 60 people had died in the attack, mostly pro-Assad Shi'ite militiamen. The U.N. report, which largely covered incidents between May and July, accused forces loyal to Assad of bombing schools and hospitals, and rebels of carrying out summary executions after sentencing by Islamic Sharia courts lacking due process. The commission, led by Paulo Pinheiro of Brazil, urged the U.N. Security Council to hold perpetrators accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The investigators, who include former U.N. war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte, analyzed photographs, video and satellite imagery, as well as forensic and medical records, to draw up their report. The team also verified the killing of 450 people during an offensive by Syrian government forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters to retake the strategic town of Qusair. Food and water were cut off during a siege, and the town was heavily shelled. "Approximately half were civilian casualties, killed primarily in the shelling and aerial bombardment of the town in the early days of the offensive," the report said. U.S. President Barack Obama asked Congress on Tuesday to delay a vote on authorizing a military strike against Syria in retaliation for its use of chemical weapons, to give time to a Russian plan to take away Syria's chemical weapons. The U.N. experts said they had received allegations of chemical weapons use, "predominantly by government forces", but could not give details of the incidents, some of which have been investigated by U.N. weapons inspectors in the last few weeks. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Tom Miles and Kevin Liffey)

Double car bombing kills 44, 59 in Damascus

Syria's Alawites are secretive, unorthodox sect23 Dec 2011 20:37Source: Reuters // Reuters* Alawites are clannish(Of, relating to, or characteristic of a clan.) sect once isolated in western mountains* Many Muslims consider them heretics for considering Ali divine* Other minorities fear reprisals if Alawites lose out to SunnisBy Tom Heneghan, Religion EditorPARIS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The clannishness, secrecy and tenacity of Syria's power elite around President Bashar al-Assad are hallmarks of the enigmatic Alawite faith that unites its members and arouses suspicion among the majority Sunnis.An oppressed minority for most of their history, Alawites suddenly took control in Syria in 1970 when Assad's father Hafez staged a coup that sidelined the Sunnis. He built a ferocious security apparatus based on fellow Alawite officers.This year's bloody struggle between Assad's forces and pro-democracy protesters, which has cost thousands of lives, splits the country along a minority-majority gulf made deeper by the fact many Sunnis call Alawites heretics and apostates."The political animosities have developed over the past 41 years that the Assads have been in power, but the religious animosities go back many centuries," said Mohamad Bazzi, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.Like most other Arab countries, Syria has seen conservative Islam spreading in recent decades. This has sharpened Sunni differences with the Alawites, who claim to be mainline Shi'ites and sometimes copy Sunni practices to play down differences.The government's brutal crackdown on protesters this year has also widened this split, Bazzi said, prompting some leaders of the mainly Sunni opposition Muslim Brotherhood to row back on a more moderate approach they had taken in recent years."Lately some statements by leaders associated with the Brotherhood were very sectarian," he said. "Once the sectarian genie is out of the bottle, it's difficult to put it back in."Sunnis Muslims make up 74 percent of Syria's 22 million population, Alawites 12 percent, Christians 10 percent and Druze 3 percent. Ismailis, Yezidis and a few Jews make up the rest.AN UNCERTAIN OFFSHOOTThe Alawite religion is often called "an offshoot of Shi'ism," Islam's largest minority sect, but that is something like referring to Christianity as "an offshoot of Judaism."Alawites broke away from Shi'ism over 1,000 years ago and retain some links to it, including the veneration of Ali, the cousin and son-in law of the Prophet Mohammad.But several beliefs differ sharply from traditional Islam. Named after Ali, Alawites believe he was divine, one of many manifestations of God in a line with Adam, Jesus, Mohammad, Socrates, Plato and some pre-Islamic sages from ancient Persia.To orthodox Muslims, this eclectic synthesis of Christian, Gnostic, Neoplatonic and Zoroastrian thought violates Islam's key tenet that "there is no God but God."Isolated in the mountains near Syria's Mediterranean coast, Alawites taught the Koran was to be read allegorically and preferred to pray at home rather than in mosques.They were also highly secretive, initiating only a minority of believers into their core dogma, including reincarnation and a divine Trinity, and into rituals including a rite of drinking consecrated wine similar to a Christian Mass.Like the nearby Druze, Alawites adopted the Shi'ite practice of taqiyya, or hiding their beliefs to avoid persecution."Taqiyya makes a perfect qualification for membership in the mukhabarat, the ubiquitous intelligence/security apparatus that has dominated Syria's government for more than four decades," the British Islam expert Malise Ruthven wrote recently.FEARS OF REVENGEOppressed during the Ottoman period, Alawites have played down their distinctive beliefs in recent decades to argue they were mainline Shi'ites like in Iran. This is partly to satisfy the constitutional rule that the president must be a Muslim.The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood called the Alawites infidels for decades. Leaders of the Sunni movement no longer say this openly, but nobody knows whether the rank and file is convinced.The ruling Baath Party is officially secular, which has helped Alawites win support as protectors of other minorities."Hafez al-Assad constructed a minority system, with Christians, Druze and Ismailis, to rule over a Sunni Muslim country," said Andrew Tabler, Syria analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy."Most of the protesters now are also Sunnis, so the current violence has affected the Sunni population more," he said.The tension that system produced makes Alawites, Christians and the other minorities fear bloody sectarian violence in revenge against them if Sunnis should regain power."If there is a change of regime," Chaldean Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo told a conference in Venice last June, "It's the end of Christianity in Syria. I saw what happened in Iraq."Bazzi said a double car bombing in Damascus on Friday that killed 44 people could be a further escalation of Sunni violence against the Alawite-led state."Syria was a major staging area for Sunni jihadis (attacking U.S. forces) in Iraq," he said. "Many of these networks are still in place in Syria. These are elements that view Shi'ites as heretics and Alawites as even more heretical."(Reporting By Tom Heneghan)============inShare4Share thisEmailPrintRelated NewsArab League team visits Damascus blast sites: Syrian TV6:46am ESTLebanon warned Syria warned of al Qaeda infiltration7:16am ESTU.S. condemns Syria blasts, says must not hinder Arab League11:07am ESTAnalysis: Syria bombings signal deadlier phase of revolt12:51pm ESTArab League monitors leave for Syria on Monday: report2:49pm ESTAnalysis & OpinionThe global youth unemployment crisisEgypt’s Christian minority wary of too much foreign supportRelated TopicsWorld »By Erika SolomonBEIRUT | Fri Dec 23, 2011 2:45pm EST(Reuters) - Suicide car bombers struck Damascus on Friday, officials said, sending human limbs flying in the bloodiest violence in Syria's capital since a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad began nine months ago.An interior ministry spokesman raised the death toll to 44 people in an evening address on state television, blaming al Qaeda for the blasts which hit two security buildings.They struck a day after Arab League officials arrived to prepare for monitors who will check whether Assad is implementing a plan to end the bloodshed. The first monitors will travel to Syria on Monday, Egypt's news agency said.Assad has unleashed tanks and troops to try to crush nine months of street protests inspired by other Arab uprisings this year. Mainly peaceful rallies are now increasingly eclipsed by an armed insurgency against his military and security apparatus.But Friday's blasts in central Damascus signaled a dramatic escalation in violence, which Syrian authorities blame on armed groups they say have killed 2,000 soldiers and security force members this year. The United Nations says Assad's crackdown has killed 5,000 people."It's a new phase. We're getting militarized here," said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at the University of Oklahoma who felt Friday's bombs were a "small premonition" of what may come in a country that some analysts see slipping towards civil war."This is when the Syrian opposition is beginning to realize they are on their own," he added, referring to Western reluctance to intervene militarily in Syria.The interior ministry spokesman said 166 people were wounded by the explosions. It broadcast footage of mangled bodies being carried in blankets and stretchers into ambulances.Bloodied streets were littered with human remains, blackened hulks of cars and a row of corpses wrapped in sheets."This is a qualitative escalation of the terrorist operations that Syria has been exposed to for the last nine months," the interior ministry spokesman said."These two suicide terrorist operations show, once again, the real face of the plot seeking to shake Syria's stability."He said the first car bomb struck the main entrance of Damascus security branch at 10.18 am. The second bomb, one minute later, hit a central intelligence building.Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdesi said the attacks were carried out by "terrorists (trying) to sabotage the will for change" in Syria, and followed warnings from Lebanon that al Qaeda fighters had infiltrated Syria from Lebanese territory.The United States condemned the attacks, saying there was "no justification for terrorism of any kind" and that the work of the Arab League should not be hindered.There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Al Qaeda are Sunni Muslim militants. Assad and Syria's power elite belong to the Alawite branch of Shi'ite Islam while the majority of Syrians, including protesters and insurgents, are Sunnis.Assad's opponents said the attack could have been staged to drive home the government's argument. "We have all sorts of suspicions that this could be organized by the regime itself," said Basma Qadmani, spokeswoman for the Syrian National Council.Activists said they were surprised at the speed with which authorities leveled accusations at al Qaeda, barely an hour after the explosions shook a central district which residents said is well-policed and has restrictions on traffic movement."I believe the blast was engineered by the Syrian regime," Lebanon's anti-Syrian former prime minister Saad al-Hariri said.Syria has generally barred foreign media from the country, making it hard to verify accounts of events from either side."WAR IN SYRIA"Analysts said authorities were unlikely to have staged an attack that only serves to highlight their vulnerability."There is a war going on in Syria now," said Rami Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Institute in Beirut, saying various armed rebel or Islamist groups could have staged the bombings.The last serious attack of its kind in the tightly-controlled Syrian capital was three years ago, when a car bomb went off near a security complex, killing 17 civilians.That attack, for which Syrian authorities blamed an Islamist suicide bomber using a car brought in from a unnamed neighboring Arab country the day before, was one of the biggest in Damascus since an Islamist militant campaign in the 1980s against Hafez al-Assad, late father of the current president.Hilal Khashan, a political scientist at the American University in Beirut, said neither the government nor al Qaeda were likely to have been responsible for Friday's attack."When it comes to security in Damascus ... the government does not play games," he said."I think this is the symptom of desperation after so many Syrians have seen blood and death in the crushing of protests."The United Nations says Assad's forces have killed more than 5,000 people in their crackdown on the protests, which erupted in March instigated by uprisings that toppled autocratic leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya over the course of the year.The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 civilians were killed outside the capital on Friday, eight of them in the city of Homs which has been a centre of protest.The intensifying violence on both sides in Syria has raised fears that the country is drifting towards civil war. Downtown Damascus and Syria's second city Aleppo hitherto had largely escaped the turmoil now common in many other cities and towns."First I heard an explosion and then, all of a sudden, I saw human limbs flying everywhere," said a man interviewed by Syrian television near the site of the attack in Kafr Sousa.His head and face were covered in bandages.State media said the Arab League delegation, which will be seeking assurances of free movement for 150 monitors due to arrive in Syria by the end of the month, had visited the sites of the explosions to inspect the damage.The monitors are supposed to verify Syria's implementation of an Arab League peace plan it agreed six weeks ago, which stipulates a withdrawal of troops from protest-hit cities and towns, release of prisoners and dialogue with the opposition.Arab League sources have said the advance team, led by top League official Samir Seif al-Yazal, comprises a dozen people, including financial, administrative and legal experts.Activists say Assad, 46, is still trying to suppress public dissent with military force despite European Union and Arab League sanctions, and his avowed commitment to the peace plan.Damascus says more than 1,000 prisoners have been freed since the Arab plan was agreed and the army has pulled out of cities. Anti-Assad activists deny any such pullout has occurred.The government has promised a parliamentary election early next year as well as constitutional reform that might loosen the Baath Party's 48-year grip on power.Syrian pro-democracy activists are deeply skeptical about Assad's commitment to the plan. If implemented, it could embolden demonstrators demanding an end to his 11-year rule, which followed three decades of domination by his father.The British-based Avaaz rights group said on Thursday it had evidence of more than 6,237 deaths of civilians and security forces in the conflict, 617 of them under torture. At least 400 of the dead were children, it said.(Additional reporting and writing by Dominic Evans; editing by Andrew Roche)===============Joshua Landis said: "It's a new phase. We're getting militarized here,"reuters Friday, December 23, 2011 8:13:00 PM CETBasma Qadmani said: "We have all sorts of suspicions that this could be organized by the regime itself,"reuters Friday, December 23, 2011 8:13:00 PM CETRami Khouri said: "There is a war going on in Syria now,"reuters Friday, December 23, 2011 8:13:00 PM CETdailystar-LB Friday, December 23, 2011 7:28:00 PM CETJoshua Landis said: "I don't see any logic for the regime,"dailystar-LB Friday, December 23, 2011 7:28:00 PM CETHilal Khashan said: "Al Qaeda flows from Syria to Lebanon, not the other way around," "And everyone knows that Syria has been behind the flow of al Qaeda operatives around the region since the unrest in Iraq"dailystar-LB Friday, December 23, 2011 7:28:00 PM CETJoshua Landis said: "And they're getting fed up with the Syrian National Council and this talk of 'peaceful, peaceful'," "They think: 'You're a fool, you're waiting for NATO to do a Libya, and they're not going to do that. They're killing us here...and we're going to make the government pay a high price for that'"dailystar-LB Friday, December 23, 2011 7:28:00 PM CETBasma Qadmani said: "We have all sorts of suspicions that this could be organized by the regime itself,"ABCnews Friday, December 23, 2011 7:15:00 PM CETMark Toner said: "There is no justification for terrorism of any kind and we condemn these acts whether they occur," "It is crucial that today's attack not impede the critical work of the Arab League monitoring mission to document and deter human rights abuses with the goal of protecting civilians"ABCnews Friday, December 23, 2011 7:15:00 PM CETJoshua Landis said: "It's a new phase. We're getting militarised here,"alertnet Friday, December 23, 2011 7:07:00 PM CETBasma Qadmani said: "We have all sorts of suspicions that this could be organised by the regime itself,"alertnet Friday, December 23, 2011 7:07:00 PM CETRami Khouri said: "There is a war going on in Syria now,"alertnet Friday, December 23, 2011 7:07:00 PM CETBasma Qadmani said: "We have all sorts of suspicions that this could be organised by the regime itself,"alertnet Friday, December 23, 2011 7:07:00 PM CETJoshua Landis said: "I don't see any logic for the regime,"alertnet Friday, December 23, 2011 7:07:00 PM CETHilal Khashan said: "Al Qaeda flows from Syria to Lebanon, not the other way around," "And everyone knows that Syria has been behind the flow of al Qaeda operatives around the region since the unrest in Iraq"alertnet Friday, December 23, 2011 7:07:00 PM CETJoshua Landis said: "And they're getting fed up with the Syrian National Council and this talk of 'peaceful, peaceful'," "They think: 'You're a fool, you're waiting for NATO to do a Libya, and they're not going to do that. They're killing us here...and we're going to make the government pay a high price for that'"alertnet Friday, December 23, 2011 7:07:00 PM CETthestar-my Friday, December 23, 2011 6:59:00 PM CETthestar-my Friday, December 23, 2011 6:59:00 PM CETthestar-my Friday, December 23, 2011 6:59:00 PM CETtrust Friday, December 23, 2011 6:43:00 PM CETtrust Friday, December 23, 2011 6:43:00 PM CETRami Khouri said: "There is a war going on in Syria now,"trust Friday, December 23, 2011 6:43:00 PM CETFayssal Mekdad told: "We said it from the beginning, this is terrorism,"msnbc Friday, December 23, 2011 6:03:00 PM CETmsnbc Friday, December 23, 2011 6:03:00 PM CETJoshua Landis said: "It's a new phase. We're getting militarized here,"news-yahoo Friday, December 23, 2011 5:44:00 PM CETnews-yahoo Friday, December 23, 2011 5:44:00 PM CETnews-yahoo Friday, December 23, 2011 5:44:00 PM CETekantipur Friday, December 23, 2011 5:29:00 PM CETmsnbc Friday, December 23, 2011 5:18:00 PM CETJihad al-Makdesi told: "The Lebanese authorities warned us two days ago that al-Qaida group infiltrated to Syria from (north Lebanon's town of) Ersal,"jpost Friday, December 23, 2011 4:23:00 PM CETalertnet Friday, December 23, 2011 4:05:00 PM CETFayssal Mekdad told: "There are more than 30 dead and more than 100 wounded in today's two attacks,"reliefWeb Friday, December 23, 2011 4:02:00 PM CETFayssal Mekdad added: "But we are going to do all we can to facilitate the Arab League mission," "The terrorists wanted the first day of the observer mission in Damascus to be a tragic day but the Syrian people will stand strong in the face of the killing machine supported by the Europeans, the Americans and some Arab countries,"reliefWeb Friday, December 23, 2011 4:02:00 PM CETMichel Sleiman told: "The attack coincides with the arrival of the advance observer team, [it] aims at disrupting the Arab solution that was agreed upon between Syria and the Arab League,"dailystar-LB Friday, December 23, 2011 3:59:00 PM CETSaad Hariri said: “warned Damascus that members of Al-Qaeda [infiltrated Syria] two days ago from Lebanon,”nowlebanon Friday, December 23, 2011 3:46:00 PM CETreuters Friday, December 23, 2011 3:42:00 PM CETSuleiman Franjieh said: “We see that what is happening [aims to foil] the Russian proposal and the Arab [League’s] solution [for the Syrian crisis],”nowlebanon Friday, December 23, 2011 3:00:00 PM CETRula Amin said: "The capital has been relatively quiet. If the government is trying to say this is the work of protesters or even al-Qaeda sympathisers, the attack is in the heart of the capital and that makes the government look very vulnerable,"aljazeera-en Friday, December 23, 2011 3:00:00 PM CETRula Amin said: "What the government wants to say is that the people who did these blasts are the same people they are fighting ... The say they are battling terrorists and [this is how] they justify their use of violence"aljazeera-en Friday, December 23, 2011 3:00:00 PM CETFayssal Mekdad told: "We said it from the beginning, this is terrorism. They are killing the army and civilians,"independent Friday, December 23, 2011 2:29:00 PM CETFayssal Mekdad told: "We said it from the beginning, this is terrorism. They are killing the army and civilians,"breakingnews-ie Friday, December 23, 2011 2:26:00 PM CETFayssal Mekdad told: "We said it from the beginning, this is terrorism. They are killing the army and civilians,"timesofmalta Friday, December 23, 2011 2:23:00 PM CETFayssal Mekdad told: "There are more than 30 dead and more than 100 wounded in today's two attacks,"abc-au Friday, December 23, 2011 1:51:00 PM CET=================


Iran blames outside forces for Syria blast
Updated 1 hour ago
[Iran blames outside forces for Syria blast ]


TEHRAN: Iran on Saturday condemned a deadly suicide bombing in Damascus, charging that such "terrorist actions" were the work of foreign governments that wanted to arm the Syrian opposition.

Iran "condemns terrorist act that resulted in killing and injuring Syrian people and also condemns foreign intervention," the deputy foreign minister in charge of Arab and African affairs, Hossein Amirabdolahian, said in a statement posted on his ministry's website.

"The parties who back sending weapons to Syria are responsible for killing innocent people. Some parties, by sending weapons and (committing) terrorist actions in this country, are pursuing their own specific goals,"
Amirabdolahian stressed in his statement that the solution to the Syrian unrest should be a "solely political one" that incorporates reforms promised by Assad.

"Some parties consider themselves above the UN and its special envoy's plan and are trying to impose their will with hasty actions," he said, in another swipe at countries that have argued in favour of arming the Syrian opposition.
.

State media said at least 11 people died and 28 were wounded in Friday's suicide bombing which hit worshippers leaving a mosque after the main weekly prayers.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two civilians died.

Syria is the chief Middle East ally of Iran, which has pledged its support to beleaguered President Bashar al-Assad.

The persistent bloodshed has endangered a hard-won truce brokered by international peace envoy Kofi Annan even before the full deployment of a promised 300-strong UN military observer mission.



Amirabdolahian did not name them but Iran's Gulf Arab rivals Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been among the most outspoken champions of arming the rebels,

although both governments insist they are not yet doing so.

US officials have voiced suspicion that Iran is supplying Assad's regime with weapons and military advisers, but Tehran has denied that.

-----------------

Rebel rivalry and suspicions threaten Syria revolt
Fri, Apr 27 10:04 AM EDT

By Erika Solomon

ANTAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) - Rebel fighter Mustafa and his trio of burly men look out of place at a trendy Turkish cafe near the Syrian border, dressed in tattered jeans and silently puffing on cigarettes as they scoop into tall ice-cream sundaes.

Their battleground is across the frontier in Syria, where they are fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad. But like many rebels in northern Syria, they are so desperate for weapons and money, they are searching for new donors in Turkey.

"When it comes to getting weapons, every group knows they are on their own," says the 25-year-old with a patchy beard. "It's a fight for resources."

Nominally Mustafa's rebels fight for the Free Syrian Army (FSA), but the FSA, lacking international recognition or direct state funding, is a often just a convenient label for a host of local armed groups competing fiercely for scarce financing.

So fiercely, they sometimes turn their guns on each other.

"Everyone needs weapons. There is tension. There is anger and yes, sometimes there is fighting if rebels in one town seem to have an unfair share of weapons," said Mustafa, who comes from Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, which borders Turkey and has been a hotbed of resistance to Assad.

Such mistrust is compounded by the competing agendas of outside parties who are further fragmenting the rebel movement.

Finding a donor usually means using personal connections, rebels say. They get relatives or expatriate friends to put them in touch with businessmen or Syrian groups abroad.

But once fighters go to private donors for weapons, they have to negotiate, and the price may be ideological.

Many say Islamist groups, from hard-line Salafists to the exiled Muslim Brotherhood, bankroll many battalions that share their religious outlook. The Brotherhood has representatives in Antakya ready to meet interested rebels, fighters say.

Leftist politicians and other opponents of Islamists are trying to counter that influence by funding rival armed bands.

"These groups are all making their own militias, like they are some kind of warlords. This is dividing people," said one activist who asked not to be named. "They aren't thinking about military strategies, they are thinking about politics."

SPLINTER GROUPS

With the U.N. peace plan for Syria on the ropes, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, regional rivals of Assad's main ally Iran, are likely to increase calls for the insurgents to be armed.

Western powers wary of military entanglement in another Middle Eastern hotspot have so far said this would not be helpful, while proposing non-lethal aid to the opposition.

Even if that were to change, it is not clear how military supplies could be directed to competing insurgents hopelessly outgunned by Assad's artillery and tanks, many of whom don't even agree on a military strategy.

Several rebel groups have formally broken with the FSA to form outfits such as the Syrian Liberation Army, the Patriotic Army and The Alternative Movement, whose real identity and clout are hard to assess, because the government restricts media access to Syria.

The FSA has pledged to honor the shaky U.N.-backed truce that took effect on April 16 if the army reciprocates. But the Syrian Liberation Army says it will keep fighting.

"We don't accept the ceasefire. We have slowed down a bit, only because we don't have enough weapons," its spokesman, Haitham Qudeimati, told Reuters.

Fighters say private donors, possibly frontmen for Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have funneled millions of dollars to favored rebel groups. Many suspect the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis are getting the lion's share.

A 60-year-old rebel commander called Abu Shaham, from the central city of Hama, accused the Brotherhood of hanging back from the battlefront to overpower other rebel groups later.

"The Brotherhood is pumping money into the rebel units yet their men don't fight as much as us. They are almost always the first to retreat. Why?" he asked.

"They are not thinking about this phase in the battle. They care about what comes next. They want to save themselves for the struggle after Assad falls, to come out the strongest."

Analyst Joseph Holliday, of the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War, said if foreign powers do not engage with the rebels in an orderly way, their rivalries could create chaos.

"If we don't recognize the rebels, anyone can set up shop in Turkey and start funding opposing groups," said Joseph Holliday, of the U.S-based Institute for the Study of War. "We don't know who is arming who ... I'm afraid by the time the West decides to do something it may be too late."

Some rebels worry Islamist radicals could stoke tensions between majority Sunni Muslims, who have driven the revolt, and minority Alawites, Shi'ites and Christians, who are wary of it.

"There are a lot of jihadists who want to come from abroad, this is real," said one insurgent, who asked not to be named. "Then we will no longer be talking about Syria's fight for freedom, we'll be talking about a sectarian war."

KILLING THE "FLEAS"

Qudeimati says most rebels do not belong to any unified group because of a culture of distrust, fostered by years of fear under Syria's infamous secret police.

"The problem is the Assad regime had 40 years to create mistrust between Syrians," Qudeimati said. "The lack of unity has been part of the regime's strategy."

Some FSA rebels say they even keep a distance from the FSA's top officers, fearing they too are infiltrated.

Suspicion of "fleas" - slang for collaborators - has bred an environment where vigilante killing almost seems the norm.

"There are a lot of groups on the ground working alone and not all of them are good guys," said rebel commander Abu Shaham.

"Some are thieves or criminals taking advantage of the chaos. So we go after the fleas and chase them out or kill them. We don't have a problem shooting these people."

Last month, the commander of a rebel unit in Homs province, Amjad al-Hameed, who claimed to be funded by The Alternative Movement, criticized the leaders of several other groups.

"We have armed men among our civilians that are a burden to our revolution," he told a crowd in a March 17 YouTube video. "They are just thieves ... It is impermissible for anyone to rape women, otherwise we are no different from Bashar al-Assad."

The next day, unidentified gunmen shot him dead.

Hameed's battalion did not blame the government but other rebels, vowing to "punish them as they deserve."

Some rebels adopt the FSA label simply to improve their chances of getting funds.

"We felt forced into aligning with the Free Syrian Army because it is the most widely known. If it gets recognized, we'll get foreign aid," says the Idlib rebel Mahmoud.

At a refugee camp in Turkey, Mahmoud and his eager comrades sit next to a muscular Syrian exile who discreetly shows them his laptop and chats with them about military strategy.

He won't say who has sent him or what he wants in return. But he hints there could be weapons on offer, joking: "I've come to help buy the boys their fruits and vegetables."

(Editing by Alistair Lyon)

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Nine dead in suicide bomb near Damascus mosque
Fri, Apr 27 15:09 PM EDT
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By Ed Cropley

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed nine people including security officers at a Damascus mosque on Friday, Syria's interior ministry said, in another blow to a fraying U.N.-brokered truce between President Bashar al-Assad and rebels fighting for his downfall.

The explosion happened as worshippers were leaving the Zain al-Abideen mosque, which was under heavy security due to its reputation as a launchpad for anti-Assad demonstrations after Friday prayers.

A local resident said security officials at the scene told him a man in military uniform had triggered an explosives vest when he was challenged by soldiers as he walked towards the area.

Many of the body parts scattered across the tarmac were wearing green military-style clothing, the resident said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. But it was close to the site of a January 6 suicide bombing which was claimed by a previously unknown anti-Assad Sunni Islamist group calling itself the al-Nusra Front.

In a statement on state television, the interior ministry said 26 people were wounded in the explosion, one of several bombings on Friday.

"We had been trying to go to pray in the area but they stopped us at a checkpoint. Security weren't letting us in because there are usually protests there," one anti-Assad activist told Reuters by telephone.

"Then we heard the blast. It was so loud and then ambulances came rushing past us," the activist added. "I could see a few body parts and pieces of flesh on the road. The front of a restaurant looked destroyed. People were screaming."

State television showed images of blackened flesh and a mangled hand lying on the road as soldiers and police cleared the area to make way for ambulance crews.

Earlier, a loud blast was heard near a bus station which activists say is often used by pro-Assad militiamen tasked with preventing demonstrations in the capital. Shopkeepers said a Mercedes caught fire but only the driver was wounded.

State media reported three more minor explosions in Damascus in which four people were wounded, and said five policemen were hurt by two blasts in the coastal city of Tartous.

VIOLENCE "PICKING UP"

The United Nations says Syrian forces have killed more than 9,000 people in the 13-month-old revolt against Assad. Damascus says insurgents have killed more than 2,600 soldiers and police.

Central Damascus has been spared much of the violence, although Friday's blasts occurred less than a week after a car bomb blew up near an Iranian cultural centre in the capital.

"The action is picking up and it seems the (rebels) and Assad's forces are starting to battle it out in Damascus as well," said an activist in Midan who uses the name Mar Ram.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accused Damascus on Thursday of breaking its pledge to withdraw heavy weapons and troops from towns, saying he was "gravely alarmed by reports of continued violence and killing in Syria.

The White House also said it was disappointed at Damascus' failure to adhere to its Annan plan promises and Washington would "continue to ramp up the pressure against the Assad regime".

Russia, one of the Syrian government's biggest remaining allies, on Friday said the rebels were largely to blame for ceasefire violations and accused them of seeking to provoke foreign intervention.

"This truce has not yet fully set in largely because opposition armed groups try to create provocations - explosions, terrorist acts, shooting at government forces, government buildings, administrative buildings," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state TV on Friday.

Most independent media have been barred from Syria, making it hard to verify events on the ground.

The Syrians for Human Rights Network, one of many groups opposed to Assad, said security forces had committed 86 ceasefire violations, including a helicopter gunship opening fire on a civilian area and snipers targeting protesters.

Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud accused rebels of 1,300 truce breaches and said the state "reserved the right to respond to any violation or attack," state news agency SANA reported.

A dozen U.N. ceasefire monitors are already on the ground and U.N. officials said a full advance team of 30 out of a planned 300-strong presence would be there by Monday.

The slow build-up, more than two weeks after the truce came into effect, has sparked derision from Assad's foes and frustration in western capitals, where leaders want tough measures imposed on Damascus sooner rather than later.

France says that if Assad's forces do not return to barracks, it will push next month for a "Chapter 7" U.N. Security Council resolution - which could allow action ranging from economic sanctions to military intervention.

Western powers have said they intend to push for U.N. sanctions. Russia and China have made clear that they would veto Libya-style military action and have resisted the idea of sanctions.

(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Erika Solomon, Dominic Evans and Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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Two bombs explode on Damascus highway: residents
Sat, May 05 04:50 AM EDT

By Mariam Karouny

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Two bombs detonated on a central Damascus highway on Saturday, destroying nine cars, residents said, in a further sign that rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad are shifting tactics towards homemade explosives.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the blasts from bombs planted under cars on al-Thawra Street, the latest blow to last month's crumbling U.N.-backed truce.

Fifty out of a planned total of 300 United Nations observers are now in Syria to monitor the ceasefire declared on April 12, but their presence has not halted the violence in a 14-month-old revolt that began with peaceful pro-democracy protests.

Deadly blasts have shaken major cities as insurgents seek to even the odds between their outgunned forces and the tanks, artillery and helicopters in Assad's military arsenal.

On April 30, explosions blew the fronts off buildings in the northern town of Idlib, where state TV reported nine people killed and 100 wounded, including security personnel.

Three days earlier, a suicide bomber killed nine, including security men, at a Damascus mosque, the Interior Ministry said.

An Islamist group calling itself the Support Front for the People of the Levant claimed responsibility for that bombing and for an April 24 attack on the Iranian cultural consulate in Damascus. Iran is one of Syria's closest allies.

Assad has long argued that he is combating foreign-backed "armed terrorist groups" rather than a popular uprising. Syrian officials say rebels have killed more than 2,600 soldiers and police. The United Nations estimates that the security forces have killed more than 9,000 people since the rebellion began.

(Writing by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

===============

Syria suicide bombers kill 55, ceasefire in tatters

10 May 2012 20:11

Source: reuters // Reuters

Smoke rises from the wreckage of mangled vehicles at the site of an explosion in Damascus May 10, 2012. REUTERS/Sana/Handout

the regime has entered a spiral of violence with no way out."

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut called the double bombing "reprehensible and unacceptable" but reiterated Washington's demand that the Syrian government implement Annan's plan.

REBELS SET TO RESUME ATTACKS

The United Nations says Syrian forces have killed 9,000 people during the revolt. Damascus blames foreign-backed "terrorists", saying they have killed 2,600 soldiers and police.

Nashar said the government had stuck to violence and had not implemented any of Annan's six-point plan.

"We want international intervention to stop this policy of killing," he added, without saying what form it should take.

Riad al-Asaad, the FSA's commander of operations, said the rebels were ready to resume attacks on government forces as soon as Annan announced that his initiative had failed.

In other violence, 10 rebels were killed overnight when tanks shelled the village of Ain Sheeb in the northwestern province of Idlib, opposition sources said. Tank fire also killed a civilian in the northwestern town of Ain Hamra. (Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Dominic Evans in Beirut, Nicholas Vinocur in Paris, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Sebastian Moffett in Brussels, Michelle Nichols in New York and Jeff Mason aboard Air Force One; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

===

Syria suicide bombers kill 55, ceasefire in tatters
Thu, May 10 22:47 PM EDT
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By Oliver Holmes and Mariam Karouny

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two suicide car bombers killed 55 people and wounded 372 in Damascus on Thursday, state media said, the deadliest attacks in the Syrian capital since an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 14 months ago.

The blasts further shredded a ceasefire that was declared by international mediator Kofi Annan on April 12 but that has failed to halt bloodshed pitting Assad's security forces against peaceful demonstrators and an array of armed insurgents.

Opposition leaders said Annan's peace plan was dead, while Western powers insisted it remained the best way forward.

Annan condemned the "abhorrent" bombings and urged all parties to halt violence and protect civilians. "The Syrian people have already suffered too much," he said in a statement.

The White House and the United Nations also condemned the attacks, for which there was no claim of responsibility.

Syria's foreign ministry said the attacks were a sign that the major Arab state was facing foreign-backed terrorism and urged the U.N. Security Council to combat countries or groups supporting such violence.

"Syria stresses the importance of the UNSC taking measures against countries, groups and news agencies that are practicing and encouraging terrorism," the state news agency SANA quoted the ministry as saying in a letter to the U.N. body.

The near-simultaneous explosions hit the al-Qazaz district just before 8 a.m. (9.00 a.m. EDT), residents said. One punched a crater three metres (10 feet) deep in the city's southern ring road. Bloodied corpses and body parts could be seen on the road.

State television also showed at least one overturned truck. Walls of buildings on each side of the avenue had collapsed.

One resident reported limited damage to the facade of the nearby Palestine Branch Military Intelligence centre, one of the most feared of more than 20 Syrian secret police agencies. The huge walled complex was targeted by a 2008 bombing that killed 17 people and which authorities blamed on Islamist militants.

The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll from the bombings at 59 and said most of them worked for the security forces. No group has claimed responsibility.

The Interior Ministry vowed to "chase down the criminal killers and those who help or house them in their dens". It also appealed to citizens to pass on any information that might help.

MOUNTING DEATH TOLL

Rami Abdulrahman, head of the British-based Observatory, said 849 people - 628 civilians and 221 soldiers, of whom 31 were defectors - had been killed since the April 12 truce accord. The toll did not include Thursday's deaths.

The attacks occurred a day after a bomb exploded near U.N. observers monitoring the ceasefire, which state forces and rebels have both violated, and two weeks after authorities said a suicide bomber killed at least nine people in Damascus.

"This (Thursday's attacks) is yet another example of the suffering brought upon the people of Syria from acts of violence," said Major-General Robert Mood, leader of the U.N. monitors, who visited the scene.

Opposition to Assad, which began with peaceful protests in March 2011 inspired by popular revolts against other Arab autocratic leaders, has grown increasingly militarised. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday there was only a narrow window of opportunity to avert full-scale civil war.

Syrian television showed a man pointing to the wreckage. "Is this freedom? This is the work of the Saudis," he said. Saudi Arabia has advocated arming rebels seeking to oust Assad.

Nadine Haddad, a candidate in Monday's parliamentary election which was boycotted by most opposition figures, blamed Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who also says Syrian insurgents should get weapons.

"I am addressing Sheikh Hamad and I tell him shame on you. You are now destroying the Syrian people, not the Syrian regime. You are killing children going to school," she said.

Qatar condemned the blasts in Damascus and called on all sides to stop the bloodshed in Syria.

The White House said it did not believe the attacks were representative of the opposition to Assad, contrary to what the Syrian authorities and state media have suggested.

"There are clearly extremist elements in Syria, as we have said all along, who are trying to take advantage of the chaos in that country, chaos brought about by Assad's brutal assault on his own people," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Samir Nashar, a member of the opposition Syrian National Council's executive board, blamed the state for the bombings, saying they were meant to deter protesters and U.N. monitoring, an argument echoed by rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) leaders.

"These bombs are not the work of opposition fighters," said its chief, General Mustafa al-Sheikh, adding that the FSA lacked the capability to set off such big explosions.

An increasing series of big bombings in Syria has generated various theories, including that some may be self-inflicted wounds by security agents out to discredit the rebels, or that they may show the rise of al Qaeda-linked Syrian Islamists with skills honed by years of activity across the border in Iraq.

The U.N. Security Council condemned the "terrorist attacks" and urged all parties to comply with the U.N.-backed peace plan.

The European Union also denounced the bombings as "pure terrorism", but said Annan's peace plan, backed by the EU, the United Nations and the Arab League, was still viable.

"It is the best option to try and ensure peace in Syria," Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said in Brussels. "It is the best way forward."

Annan's blueprint calls for a ceasefire, political dialogue between the government and opposition, and unfettered access for humanitarian aid and journalists to Syria.

Western powers have shunned any Libya-style military intervention in Syria, while Russia and China have blocked any U.N. Security Council action against Damascus, although both have supported the U.N.-Arab League envoy's peace effort.

Russia condemned the bombings, accusing unspecified foreign countries of encouraging such violence and saying Moscow would not yield to pressure to change its stance on Syria.

"Some of our foreign partners are doing practical things so that the situation in Syria explodes in literal and figurative sense," state-run RIA quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying in Beijing, without naming any countries.

Russia has been a strategic ally and major arms supplier to Syria during its four decades under Assad family rule.

Moscow opposes Western calls for U.N. sanctions against Damascus and any foreign interference in Syria, saying there should be an end to violence by all sides and then dialogue without preconditions, such as Assad leaving power.

France, among Assad's sternest critics, said Annan's plan was the "last chance" to end the crisis. "The regime carries full responsibility for the horrors in Syria," the Foreign Ministry said. "By choosing a blind and brutal repression, the regime has entered a spiral of violence with no way out."

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut called the double bombing "reprehensible and unacceptable" but reiterated Washington's demand that the Syrian government implement Annan's plan.

REBELS SET TO RESUME ATTACKS

The United Nations says Syrian forces have killed 9,000 people during the revolt. Damascus blames foreign-backed "terrorists", saying they have killed 2,600 soldiers and police.

Nashar said the government had stuck to violence and had not implemented any of Annan's six-point plan.

"We want international intervention to stop this policy of killing," he added, without saying what form it should take.

Riad al-Asaad, the FSA's commander of operations, said the rebels were ready to resume attacks on government forces as soon as Annan announced that his initiative had failed.

In other violence, 10 rebels were killed overnight when tanks shelled the village of Ain Sheeb in the northwestern province of Idlib, opposition sources said. Tank fire also killed a civilian in the northwestern town of Ain Hamra.

(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Dominic Evans in Beirut, Nicholas Vinocur in Paris, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Sebastian Moffett in Brussels, Michelle Nichols in New York and Jeff Mason aboard Air Force One; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Alawite-Sunni fighting erupts in Lebanese port city
Sun May 13, 2012 9:07am GMT

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Garbage bins set on fire block a road, as Lebanese army soldiers on their military vehicles are seen deployed in the Sunni Muslim Bab al-Tebbaneh neighbourhood in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, May 13, 2012. Two people were killed when fighting erupted overnight in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between members of the Alawite minority loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and majority Sunni residents, witnesses and security officials said on Sunday. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim
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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two people were killed when fighting erupted overnight in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between members of the Alawite minority loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and members of the Sunni majority, witnesses and security officials said on Sunday.

Rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles were used in the fighting in an Alawite enclave and surrounding Sunni neighbourhoods in the port city, 70 km (44 miles) north of Beirut.

"The clashes peaked at dawn. The sound of gunfire is still echoing in the city," a Lebanese security official said.

The fighting underlines how sectarian tensions in Syria could spill over to neighbouring Lebanon.

A small Alawite minority are concentrated in Tripoli, a conservative Sunni city where many residents have been enraged by Assad's crackdown on the 14-month revolt against 42 years of rule by the Assad family and their Alawite establishment.

Syria's Sunni majority are at the forefront of the uprising against Assad, whose sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon under international pressure in 2005 after a 29-year presence, but Assad retains big influence in the small but geopolitically important country through his main ally, the Shi'ite guerrilla group Hezbollah, the only Lebanese party that has an officially approved arsenal.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Rebels kill 23 Syrian soldiers, opposition snubs Arab talks
Mon, May 14 19:24 PM EDT
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By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels killed 23 government soldiers on Monday, activists said, and efforts to find a viable political alternative to Bashar al-Assad faltered when an opposition group said it would boycott Arab-backed talks to unite its splintered ranks.

The latest bloodshed centered in the town of Rastan, where opposition sources said President Assad's forces killed nine other people, further unraveling a month-old U.N. ceasefire pact that is being overseen by international monitors.

Rastan, 180 km (110 miles) north of Damascus, has slipped in and out of government control during a 14-month-old uprising in which peaceful protest has given way to a sectarian-tinged insurgency that answers Assad's violent bid to crush unrest.

Opposition activists said the 23 soldiers were killed during clashes at dawn that followed heavy army shelling of Rastan.

"Shells and rockets have been hitting the town since three a.m. (midnight GMT) at a rate of one a minute. Rastan has been destroyed," a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army in Rastan who declined to be named told Reuters by satellite phone.

He said that among those killed was Ahmad Ayoub, an FSA commander whose fighters were battling army forces he said were comprised of elite units and members of Military Intelligence.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels destroyed three armored personnel carriers and seized two others, capturing around 15 soldiers.

The Syrian official news agency SANA said Abdelaziz al-Hafl, a tribal notable in the oil-producing province of Deir al-Zor, was assassinated on Monday along with his son.

Opposition sources said Hafl was the 17th pro-Assad figure slain in the eastern province in recent months.

A member of Hafl's tribe said he had been repeatedly warned by insurgents to stop cooperating with the secret police, "but he did not heed the warnings and was bumped off today".

There was no independent confirmation of any of the reports of fighting and killing from inside Syria, which has severely limited media access over the course of the uprising.

Syria's Sunni Muslim majority is at the forefront of the revolt against the authoritarian Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. Assad's government says it is fighting a terrorist attempt to divide Syria.

OPPOSITION GROUP DEBATES LEADERSHIP

The exile group that claims the right to speak for the political opposition to Assad, the Syrian National Council (SNC), said it would not join Arab League-brokered talks set for Wednesday and Thursday aimed at healing its divisions.

"The SNC will not be going to the meeting in Cairo because it (the Arab League) has not invited the group as an official body but as individual members," Ahmed Ramadan told Reuters in Rome, where the group is trying to decide its leadership.

Political jockeying within the SNC has prevented it from gaining full international recognition as the sole representative of the anti-Assad movement. Executive members told Reuters they may choose a new president or restructure the council in a bid to garner broader support.

The United States, Europe and Gulf Arab states want Assad to step down but his ally Russia has blocked more robust action against Syria in the U.N. Security Council while backing U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan.

Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov defended Russia's weapons deliveries to Syria in the face of Western criticism, saying government forces need to defend themselves against rebels receiving arms from abroad.

In Brussels, the European Union said in a statement that it had extended sanctions against Syria, freezing the assets of two companies it said gave financial support to Assad's government, and imposing travel bans on three people.

But Western powers have shown no appetite to repeat the military intervention that helped Libyan rebels topple dictator Muammar Gaddafi last year, and Moscow says arming Assad's opponents would only lead to years of inconclusive bloodletting.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said last week there was only a narrow window of opportunity to avert full-scale civil war in Syria, which straddles a crossroads of Middle East conflict bordering Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Iraq and Lebanon.

Syria's 23-million population comprises a mix of sects and ethnic groups whose tensions resonate in neighboring countries.

Those tensions have flared in the last two days in the Lebanese port city of Tripoli, where medical sources said on Monday that running battles between Alawite supporters of Assad and Sunni fighters left two dead and 20 wounded.

Tension in Tripoli had been on the rise since last week when Sunni Islamists - broadly sympathetic to Syria's rebels and at times supporting them logistically - held a sit-in to protest the arrest of a man who Lebanese authorities said had been in contact with an unnamed "terrorist organization".

Judicial sources in Lebanon - where Syria has sway over the intelligence and security organs dating to the Lebanese civil war and its aftermath - said on Wednesday that Shadi al-Moulawi had been charged with belonging to an armed "terrorist" group.

(Additional reporting by Oliver Holmes in Rome, Sebastian Moffett in Brussels and Steve Gutterman in Moscow; Writing by Joseph Logan; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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21 May 2012 - 11H20

Syrian forces 'kill 9 deserters in Damascus'
An image from the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network earlier this month shows Syrian army soldiers patrolling a street in Daraa city. Syrian forces ambushed and killed nine army deserters near a north Damascus suburb as fighting between armed rebels and troops raged around the capital during the night, a monitoring group said Monday.
An image from the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network earlier this month shows Syrian army soldiers patrolling a street in Daraa city. Syrian forces ambushed and killed nine army deserters near a north Damascus suburb as fighting between armed rebels and troops raged around the capital during the night, a monitoring group said Monday.
Syrian soldiers stand guard as smoke is seen in the background following a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack near a team of UN truce observers during their visit to the Damascus suburb of Douma on May 20, 2012.
Syrian soldiers stand guard as smoke is seen in the background following a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack near a team of UN truce observers during their visit to the Damascus suburb of Douma on May 20, 2012.

AFP - Syrian forces ambushed and killed nine army deserters near a north Damascus suburb as fighting between armed rebels and troops raged around the capital during the night, a monitoring group said Monday.

The deserters were killed as they were retreating under cover of darkness from the village of Jisr al-Ab near Damascus's Douma suburb, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The watchdog had on Sunday reported fighting between rebels and regime troops near Douma, during which a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near a team of UN observers.

No one was hurt in the blast, which came as UN truce mission head Major General Robert Mood and peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous were leading observers around the north Damascus suburb.

Syrian soldiers who were on the spot have attributed the blast to an RPG rocket but UN observers have not commented on the nature of the explosion.

Heavy fighting was also reported during the night between regime soldiers and rebels in other parts of Damascus province, the Observatory said.

The clashes took place mainly in the Jisrain and Kfar Batna localities, according to the watchdog, which added there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Explosions were also heard in Deir Ezzor, Syria's main eastern city, the Observatory said. On Saturday a suicide car bomb attack in Deir Ezzor had killed nine people and wounded another 100.

Violence in Syria continues despite the presence of UN observers to oversee a truce that came into effect on April 12 but which has been consistently violated by both sides.

On Sunday, at least 48 people were killed across Syria, including 34 in an assault by regime forces on a village in central Hama province, the Observatory reported earlier. == Blast hits Damascus, Turkey sends troops to border Thu, Jun 28 20:05 PM EDT image 1 of 17 By Erika Solomon and Khaled Yacoub Oweis BEIRUT/ISKENDERUN, Turkey (Reuters) - Rebel forces attacked Syria's main court in central Damascus on Thursday, state television said, while Turkey deployed troops and anti-aircraft rocket launchers to the Syrian border, building pressure on President Bashar al-Assad. A loud explosion echoed through the streets and a column of black smoke rose over Damascus, an Assad stronghold that until the last few days had seemed largely beyond the reach of rebels. State television described it as a "terrorist" blast. Dozens of wrecked and burning cars were strewn over a car park used by lawyers and judges. The state news agency SANA said three people had been wounded by a bomb hidden in one of the cars. The fighting coincided with a Turkish military buildup on its border with Syria and a growing sense of urgency in Western- and Arab-backed diplomatic efforts to promote the idea of a unity government to end 16 months of bloodshed. But Assad himself dismissed the idea of any outside solution to Syria's crisis. "We will not accept any non-Syrian, non-national model, whether it comes from big countries or friendly countries. No one knows how to solve Syria's problems as well as we do," Assad told the state television channel of Syria's ally Iran. He said Turkey's official stance belied the Turkish people's "positive view" of Syria. A first substantial convoy of about 30 Turkish military vehicles, including trucks loaded with anti-aircraft missile batteries dispatched from the coastal town of Iskenderun, headed towards the Syrian border 50 km (30 miles) away. A Turkish official who declined to be named said he did not know how many troops or vehicles were being moved but they were being stationed in the Yayladagi, Altinozu and Reyhanli border areas. A general in the rebel Free Syria Army said on Friday that Syrian government forces had amassed around 170 tanks north of the city Aleppo, near the Turkish border, but there was no independent confirmation of the report. General Mustafa al-Sheikh, head of the Higher Military Council, an association of senior officers who defected from Assad's forces, said the tanks had assembled at the Infantry School near the village of Musalmieh northeast of the city of Aleppo, 30 kms (19 miles) from the Turkish border. "The tanks are now at the Infantry School. They're either preparing to move to the border to counter the Turkish deployment or attack the rebellious (Syrian) towns and villages in and around the border zone north of Aleppo," Sheikh told Reuters by telephone from the border. Last Friday Syria shot down a Turkish warplane over the Mediterranean. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan responded by ordering his troops to treat any Syrian military element approaching the border as a military target. This could cover Syrian forces pursuing rebels towards the border, or patrolling helicopters or warplanes. Syria said at the weekend that it had killed several "terrorists" infiltrating from Turkey. TURKISH CONVOYS A Reuters reporter near the town of Antakya saw the Turkish convoy moving out of the hills and through small towns on a narrow highway escorted by police. Another convoy left a base at Gaziantep and headed for Kilis province, the site of a large camp for Syrian refugees. Video from the DHA agency showed the group of about 12 trucks and transporters filing through the gates of the base. David Hartwell, Middle East analyst at IHS Jane's, called the Turkish action a pragmatic response to the downing of the Turkish aircraft, which Syria says was flying low and fast in Syrian airspace. "Damascus has been warned once. I doubt there will be a second warning." Turkey, in the front line of Western efforts to press Assad to step down, hosts 33,000 Syrian refugees near its southern border as well as units of the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA). Members of the FSA, talking close to the border, told Reuters they did not believe the Turkish deployments were on a large scale or aimed at any crossborder intervention. "The Turks know that any large-scale military action would need international support," said a senior FSA commander who spoke on condition of anonymity. Turkey has in the past spoken of opening a humanitarian corridor on Syrian soil if the refugee flow grew unmanageable or if the violence and killing became intolerable. Wary of igniting a regional sectarian war, it insists this would be possible only with U.N. backing. Western- and Arab-backed efforts to forge a joint diplomatic approach with Russia have so far failed. Thursday's attack in Damascus follows weeks of growing FSA pressure. Rebels stormed a pro-Assad television channel on Wednesday, and have also targeted police and security barracks. Syria denies there has been a mass popular uprising against Assad and says that the rebels who have now largely taken over from months of unarmed anti-government protests are foreign-backed Islamist terrorists, including members of al Qaeda. Assad told Iranian television that his government had a duty to eliminate these to protect its people, and that Washington was content for al Qaeda to attack countries it did not like. "When you eliminate a terrorist, it's possible that you are saving the lives of tens, hundreds, or even thousands," he said. NEW ANNAN PLAN Diplomats at the United Nations say international mediator Kofi Annan will seek backing from the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and key Middle East players on Saturday for a plan for a political transition in Syria. They say the proposal does not stipulate that Assad must step down but does call for a unity government that would exclude figures who jeopardize stability - a condition that many not be enough to convince opposition groups to participate. "The proposal is still murky to us but I can tell you that if it does not clearly state that Assad must step down, it will be unacceptable to us," said Samir Nashar, an executive member of the international Syrian National Council. Rebel fighters said there was no part of the plan they could accept, and that they had lost patience with Annan's efforts. "This is just a new labyrinth. It is new silliness for us to get lost in, and haggle over who can participate and who can't," said Ahmed, an FSA fighter in Homs, epicenter of the revolt against four decades of Assad family rule in which more than 10,000 people have been killed, by a U.N. count. An FSA member in Damascus added: "The FSA is doing its work, and it is not looking to the outside world. We don't want a transitional government unless it is the one formed by rebel military councils. The world is conspiring against the Syrian revolution." (Additional reporting by Jonathon Burch and Jon Hemming in Ankara, Marcus George, Yeganeh Torbati and Zahra Hosseinian in Dubai; Writing by Ralph Boulton; Editing by Janet McBride, Kevin Liffey and Michael Roddy)