Islamic State militants claim attacks on Iranian ambassador's residence in Libya

Daniel Mabsout 15 hrs · . 700 Turkish soldiers with 40 tanks entered the North of Syria to evacuate 40 Turkish soldiers that were guarding the tomb of Suleyman Shah the founder of the Ottoman state . The Tomb is in Syrian territories under ISIS control and the Turks acted without authorization or permission from anyone said Turkish PM Davutuglu . The remains were taken to another location inside Syria . These remains might become the label under which Turkey will directly interfere militarily in Syria. the al Mayadeen TV said that they were looking inside Syria for a place to leave the remains . Maybe this was an earlier statement . but the whole operation is suspicious .Rumors in the media said that the 40 guards were kidnapped by ISIS , but there were was no negotiations with the terrorist thugs or with anyone according to PM Davutuglu and the soldier dead died in a car accident you are right , the remains were taken momentarily to Turkey until they are moved to another place in Syria . remains to know what is the goal of all this. , this does not say anything good , maybe it is just a maneuver for the next move.. yes it is amazing . This is the news as reported by al Manar TV The Turkish Army has transgressed the borders with Syria late at night and has entered the Syrian territories with a hundred tanks and more than 500 soldiers . the Turks have crossed the Syrian territories for about 40 km and stayed 7 hours after informing the Syrian consulate of their move but without waiting for their answer or permission . The Turkish military convoy crossed land controlled by the YPG and reached the Tomb of Suleiman Shah the founder of the Ottoman state that was under ISIS control but was not damaged by ISIS that did not spare any tomb or shrine until now . The Turks removed the remains of the founder of the Ottoman state and evacuated the 40 soldiers who were guarding it and they intend to bury the remains in Syrian soil in a small Syrian village close to their borders which they have seemingly occupied The Turkish tanks have not left Syria yet .

Islamic State militants claim attacks on Iranian ambassador's residence in Libya Sun, Feb 22 15:06 PM EST image 1 of 4 TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Militants claiming loyalty to Islamic State said they were behind Sunday's twin bomb attacks on the residence of the Iranian ambassador in the Libyan capital and a rocket strike on the eastern Labraq airport. The attack on the ambassador's residence came two days after the group claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing that killed more than 40 people in the eastern town of Qubbah, one of the worst attacks on civilians since a 2011 uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi. Western powers are concerned that Libya is emerging as a thriving battleground for militants loyal to Islamic State, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria. Islamist fighters have exploited instability as two rival governments fight for control of territory. The group has stepped up attacks since Egypt launched air strikes on suspected militant targets in the eastern Libyan city of Derna on Monday, a day after Islamists released a video showing the execution of a group of Egyptian Coptic Christians. On Sunday, two bombs exploded at the gate of the Iranian ambassador's residence in central Tripoli. Iran's official IRNA news agency confirmed the blasts and said there had been no casualties, adding Iran had already suspended operations there. "Two devices were laid, one exploded first and then the other. The point of the second bomb was to create confusion," Colonel Jumaa al-Mashri from the National Security Agency told Tripoli-based al-Nabaa television. A Reuters reporter at the scene saw the second device exploding some 30 minutes after the first. Minor damage could be seen at the gate. "Soldiers of the Islamic State caliphate targeted the Iranian embassy in Tripoli," the group said in a statement posted with pictures of a flame on Twitter. The militants also claimed responsibility for a Grad rocket attack on Labraq airport, announced by officials on Saturday. No one was hurt. The airport is the main gateway into eastern Libya and Bayda, seat of the internationally recognized prime minister, Abdullah al-Thinni. His government and the House of Representatives, elected in June, have been working out of the east since a faction called Libya Dawn seized Tripoli in August, reinstating the previous assembly and setting up a rival administration. Last month, militants claiming affiliation with Islamic State stormed the Corinthia luxury hotel in Tripoli, killing five foreigners and at least four Libyans. Supporters of the group have also taken over government and university buildings in Sirte, a central city and birthplace of Gaddafi, according to residents. (Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy in Cairo and Mehrdad Balali in Dubai; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

At least eight killed as gunmen storm hotel in Libyan capital

At least eight killed as gunmen storm hotel in Libyan capital Tue, Jan 27 17:06 PM EST image 1 of 2 By Ahmed Elumami TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Two heavily armed gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Tripoli favored by Libyan officials and visiting delegations on Tuesday, killing at least eight people including four foreigners before blowing themselves up with a grenade. Officials said shooting erupted inside the five-star Corinthia Hotel and security forces evacuated guests, including Tripoli's prime minister and an American delegation, after the gunmen blasted through the building's security and reception. It was one of the worst assaults targeting foreigners since the 2011 civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi and fractured the oil-producing North African state into fiefdoms of rival armed groups with two national governments both claiming legitimacy. A militant group associated with Islamic State insurgents in Iraq and Syria claimed responsibility for the attack as revenge for the death of a suspected Libyan al Qaeda operative in the United States, according to the SITE monitoring service. But Tripoli officials who have set up their own self-proclaimed government blamed Gaddafi loyalists bent on killing their prime minister, who was at the hotel, and said he was rescued without injury. "The attackers opened fire inside the hotel, killing four foreigners, two men and two women, who are believed to be from East Asian countries," Omar Khadrawi, head of Tripoli security, told Reuters. "When the attackers were completely surrounded by the security forces, one of them detonated a grenade, but we don't know if it was deliberate." Tripoli security spokesman Essam Naas told Reuters later that an American and a Frenchman were among those killed. He said other foreigners in the line of fire in the hotel were Asian but gave no nationalities. Two U.S. officials earlier said they were investigating whether an American was killed in the attack. A security officer was also killed in the clashes and three guards died when the attackers set off a car bomb in the car park outside the hotel. Libya is caught in a conflict between two rival factions, one allied with the internationally recognized government, the other with "Libya Dawn" forces who took over the capital Tripoli in the summer and set up their own government. But in Libya's post-revolution chaos, armed groups, from brigades of former rebels to federalist fighters and Islamist militants, have grown in power and control more territory. Islamist militants, some who claim loyalty to Islamic State, operate in pockets of Libya, especially eastern Benghazi and Derna. Foreigners and embassies have been targeted in shootings, kidnappings and bombings. In 2012, militants attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, killing the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. U.S. officials blamed a Libyan Islamist group, Ansar al Sharia, for orchestrating that attack. "GADDAFI LOYALISTS" Most foreign governments closed their embassies and pulled staff out of Tripoli after factional fighting erupted last summer. But some diplomats, business and trade delegations still visit the capital. Envoys from the United Nations, which is holding talks in Geneva with some of Libya's warring parties to try to end hostilities, also visit Tripoli. Khadrawi said security forces had spirited the Tripoli government's premier, Omar al-Hassi, from the 22nd floor of the hotel where he was staying. "The attackers were attempting to assassinate him," he said, blaming Gaddafi loyalists. But SITE monitors, citing social media, said a militant group had claimed the attack as revenge for the death of Abu Anas al-Liby, a suspected al Qaeda member accused of helping plan the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. Liby died in a New York hospital this month ahead of his trial. The Libyan national was snatched by U.S. special forces from Tripoli in 2013. Since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Gaddafi, Libya has struggled to find stability and a conflict has gradually emerged between two loose confederations of politicians, armed groups and regional factions. Tripoli is controlled by a faction that is allied to the city of Misrata and their powerful armed forces, but also includes some Islamist-leaning former rebel fighters and politicians allied to the Muslim Brotherhood. They are faced by the internationally recognized government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni and the elected parliament who now operate out of the east of the country. (Writing by Patrick Markey and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Mark Heinrich) ================================= You are here: Home » Security » National Security » Officials confirm Baghdad airplane shooting Officials confirm Baghdad airplane shooting Officials confirm Baghdad airplane shooting An Iraqi Airways plane lands at Baghdad International Airport Jan.27, 2015. Airlines from at least three countries suspended flights to Baghdad on Tuesday after bullets hit an airplane operated by Fly Dubai as it was landing on Jan. 26. Company officials said Iraqi Airways and Iran's Caspian Airlines were operating flights to Baghdad on a normal schedule. (THAIER AL-SUDANI/Reuters) By Staff of Iraq Oil Report Published Tuesday, January 27th, 2015 One child was injured in a surface-to-air machine gun shooting of a Fly Dubai flight as it descended toward Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) late Jan. 26, the Transportation Ministry said on Tuesday. The acting head of the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) denied the incident altogether both Monday and Tuesday, despite the confirmation by the Transportation Ministry, to which ICAA belongs, and BIAP officials and workers. "Yesterday evening, an aircraft of Fly Dubai was hit while ... ==================================================== UPDATE 1-Leader of Libyan Islamists Ansar al-Sharia dies of wounds Fri, Jan 23 09:40 AM EST (Adds details, quote, background) BENGHAZI, Libya, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The leader of Libyan Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia has died of wounds suffered when fighting pro-government troops several months ago, his family and officials said on Friday. Mohamed al-Zahawi, who founded a brigade of Ansar in Benghazi after helping to oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, had been in hospital since he was hurt, members of his family told Reuters. Fadhl al-Hassi, a Libyan military commander, said Zahawi had died from wounds sustained in an ambush in September. "I saw myself how he got wounded in his car," he said. There was no immediate statement from Ansar al-Sharia. There had been speculation for months over Zahawi's fate, after he disappeared from public view. The United States blames Ansar al-Sharia for an assault on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi in 2012 which killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. Former army general Khalifa Haftar declared war on Ansar al-Sharia in May, pushing it out of much of the eastern city. Fighting is still going on between Haftar's troops, which have now merged with regular army forces, and Islamist fighters in the port area and other districts of Benghazi. The struggle is part of a wider conflict between former rebel groups who helped topple Gaddafi and are now competing for control of the major oil producer. Libya has two rival governments and parliaments. The internationally-recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni has been forced to work out of the east since a faction called Libya Dawn seized Tripoli in August. (Reporting by Libya staff; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Andrew Roche) ======================