| Turkish jets hit PKK targets in Iraq after soldiers killed: sources Posted: 26 Jul 2015 04:01 PM PDT  By Seyhmus Cakan and Ece Toksabay DIYARBAKIR/ANKARA, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey attacked Kurdish insurgent camps in Iraq for a second night on Sunday, security sources said, in a campaign that could end its peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Ankara, which called for a special NATO meeting on Tuesday to discuss its security concerns, said two soldiers were killed and four wounded in an earlier attack by PKK militants. Long a reluctant member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, Turkey made a dramatic turnaround this week by granting the alliance access to its air bases and launching air raids against both the jihadist movement and the PKK.
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| Turkish prime minister says no plans for ground troops in Syria Posted: 26 Jul 2015 03:43 PM PDT Turkey has no plans to send ground troops into Syria but has agreed with the United States that air cover should be provided for moderate rebels fighting Islamic State forces there, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted on Monday as saying. Long a reluctant member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, Turkey made a dramatic turnaround last week by granting the alliance access to its air bases and launching air raids against both the jihadists and Kurdish militants in Iraq. Davutoglu was quoted as telling a round table with Turkish newspaper editors that while differences with Washington remained over some aspects of policy in Syria, there was enough common ground to reach agreement on opening up the air bases. |
| British PM heads to Southeast Asia with trade, IS on agenda Posted: 26 Jul 2015 02:26 PM PDT  British Prime Minister David Cameron begins a visit to Southeast Asia on Monday, seeking greater cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State group and to strengthen trade ties with the region's booming economies. Cameron will arrive in Indonesia on the first stop of a four-day trip, accompanied by 30 British business leaders and the trade minister, before heading to Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.
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| Turkey launches new strikes on PKK as NATO meeting called Posted: 26 Jul 2015 01:52 PM PDT  The Turkish military on Sunday launched new air strikes on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq as Ankara invoked an article of NATO to call a meeting of the military alliance over its campaign against the PKK separatists and IS jihadists. Turkey has launched a two-pronged "anti-terror" cross-border offensive against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants after a wave of violence in the country, pounding their positions with air strikes and artillery. Protests meanwhile raged in a flashpoint district of Istanbul after raids against suspected militants earlier in the week, leaving one policeman dead.
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| Turkey calls for NATO meeting to discuss security threats Posted: 26 Jul 2015 12:41 PM PDT  ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey on Sunday called for a meeting of its NATO allies to discuss threats to its security and its airstrikes targeting Islamic State militants in Syria and Kurdish rebels in Iraq.
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| Turkey policeman killed in Istanbul clashes Posted: 26 Jul 2015 12:30 PM PDT  A Turkish policeman was killed on Sunday during clashes with protesters in the flashpoint Istanbul district of Gazi which have raged for the last three days following the death of a leftist activist during raids by the security forces. Policeman Muhammet Fatih Sivri was shot in the chest from inside a building while he tried to make an arrest during clashes which have raged all day, the official Anatolia news agency said. Turkish protesters had earlier engaged in pitched battles with the security forces in a third day of intense clashes in the area, an AFP photographer said.
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| Iran accuses Bahrain of stoking Gulf tensions Posted: 26 Jul 2015 11:57 AM PDT  Iran on Sunday accused Sunni-ruled Bahrain of stoking tensions in the Gulf by making unfounded allegations against it, the official IRNA news agency reported. "It is clear that the government of Bahrain, by repeating unfounded allegations, seeks to create a climate of tension in the region," it quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham as saying. On Saturday, Bahrain's interior ministry said it had detained two men accused of trying to smuggle weapons from Shiite Iran.
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| Turkish F-16s hit Kurdish militant targets in Iraq: security sources Posted: 26 Jul 2015 11:45 AM PDT DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish F-16 fighter jets hit Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq on Sunday, Turkish security sources said, the latest attack in Ankara's push against Kurdish militants and Islamic State. The warplanes, which hit targets in Hakurk, northern Iraq, scrambled from the air base in Diyarbakir, the sources said. (Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan in Diyarbakir and Ece Toksabay in Ankara, Writing by David Dolan, Editing by Angus MacSwan) |
| UK's Cameron in southeast Asia visit to talk trade, Islamist extremism Posted: 26 Jul 2015 11:34 AM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday he wanted to use a four-day trade mission to southeast Asia to spur lucrative business deals and to forge new political alliances to counter Islamist extremism. The trip, which begins in earnest on Monday, is expected to take in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, and will be Cameron's first outside Europe since he won an unexpectedly convincing election victory in May. Cameron, who will travel with a business delegation, has touted the visit as an example of how Britain must expand its trade links with the rest of the world to compensate for its dependence on trade with Europe, parts of which remain mired in an economic funk.
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| NATO to meet Tuesday at Turkey's request Posted: 26 Jul 2015 11:31 AM PDT  Ambassadors of NATO states will meet on Tuesday at Ankara's request for talks on a spike in violence between Turkey, the Islamic State group and PKK Kurdish militants, the military alliance said Sunday. "Turkey requested the meeting in view of the seriousness of the situation after the heinous terrorist attacks in recent days, and also to inform Allies of the measures it is taking," the NATO statement said. "NATO Allies follow developments very closely and stand in solidarity with Turkey," it added.
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| Turkey’s motives in its war on Islamic State Posted: 26 Jul 2015 11:08 AM PDT The answer may be yes for the July 14 agreement aimed at ending the threat from Iran's nuclear program. Turkey has joined the war to roll back the Islamic State. If Turkey's actions are done well and for the right motives, it could add to the momentum of the Iran nuclear deal in reducing violence committed by Mideast actors trying to advance a radical religious cause. |
| Istanbul police, protesters clash in flashpoint district: AFP Posted: 26 Jul 2015 10:34 AM PDT  Turkish protesters battled security forces on Sunday in intense clashes in a flashpoint Istanbul district where a leftist activist was killed during police raids earlier this week, an AFP photographer said. Protesters hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at the police who responded with water cannon, plastic bullets and tear gas. Some protesters then fortified their positions by erecting barricades in the middle of the street, the photographer said.
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| Syria's embattled president admits manpower shortage Posted: 26 Jul 2015 10:34 AM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — In his first public address in a year, embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed Sunday to win his country's long-running civil war while acknowledging his troops had lost territory to rebel forces and were running short on manpower.
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| US says Turkey has right to hit terror targets Posted: 26 Jul 2015 10:16 AM PDT  The White House on Sunday backed Turkey's right to strike back at Kurdish militants, after waves of air and artillery strikes put a fragile ceasefire in jeopardy. "Turkey has a right to take action related to terrorist targets," said deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes after strikes against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). "The US of course recognises the PKK specifically as a terrorist organisation," Rhodes said, while welcoming parallel Turkish action against the Islamic State group.
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| Turkey opposition says ready for coalition with ruling party Posted: 26 Jul 2015 10:13 AM PDT  The head of Turkey's main opposition party on Sunday said it was ready to go into coalition with the Islamic-rooted ruling party and end the political impasse that has persisted since June 7 elections. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to win an overall majority in the elections for the first time since it came to power in 2002, leaving Turkey facing either coalition government or early elections. "Even if we know the high price of a coalition government, we can take on this responsibility for the good of the country," Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), told the Hurriyet daily.
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| Why Attorney General Says ISIS Is More of a Threat Than al Qaeda Posted: 26 Jul 2015 10:05 AM PDT  The nation's top law enforcement official says the threat from ISIS is so great because the terror group's technologically advanced tactics are "still new to us," and the U.S. government is "still trying to determine the scope" of efforts to radicalize Americans and others around the world. "It's as serious -- if not more serious a threat -- than al Qaeda," Attorney General Loretta Lynch told ABC News' Pierre Thomas in an exclusive interview. That threat environment comes from ISIS' unprecedented social media campaign on Twitter and elsewhere, using slick advertising and online messaging to encourage followers worldwide to launch attacks at home.
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| Officials: Iraqi forces retake Anbar University near Ramadi Posted: 26 Jul 2015 09:28 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi government forces recaptured Anbar University from the Islamic State militant group Sunday after hours of fierce clashes, provincial officials said, as part of its push to reclaim territory across the embattled province. |
| With nuclear deal done, Iran sets out to reassure wary Gulf Arabs Posted: 26 Jul 2015 09:19 AM PDT  By Ahmed Hagagy KUWAIT (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister called on Sunday for a united front among Middle Eastern nations to fight militancy, in his first regional trip since Iran reached an agreement with world powers on the country's nuclear program - an agreement that raised fears among its Gulf Arab neighbors. "Any threat to one country is a threat to all ... No country can solve regional problems without the help of others," Mohammad Javad Zarif said at a news conference hosted by the Iranian embassy in Kuwait. Zarif earlier met Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah and Kuwait's foreign minister, Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah, who was not present at the news conference.
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| U.S., allies conduct 20 air strikes in Iraq: U.S. Military Posted: 26 Jul 2015 09:10 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies made 20 air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq on Saturday, with targets near Ramadi bearing the brunt of the attacks, the military said on Sunday. Five strikes near Ramadi hit tactical units, tanks and an armored personnel carrier for the militant group while also destroying an Islamic State road block, building, two structures, a mortar position and another armored personnel carrier, according to the Combined Joint Task Force. Four strikes hit Islamic State staging areas near Tuz as well. ... |
| Turkey army blames PKK for deadly attack as truce unravels Posted: 26 Jul 2015 08:49 AM PDT  The Turkish army on Sunday blamed PKK militants for a deadly car bomb attack that killed two of its soldiers in the Kurdish-dominated southeast, as a fragile truce risked collapsing after Ankara's air strikes on rebel positions in Iraq. Turkey has launched a two-pronged "anti-terror" cross-border offensive against Islamic State (IS) jihadists and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants after a wave of violence in the country, pounding their positions with air strikes and artillery.
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| Iran FM urges Gulf Arabs to cooperate against 'terror' Posted: 26 Jul 2015 08:03 AM PDT  Iran's foreign minister on Sunday called on Gulf Arab neighbours to cooperate against the common threat of "terrorism, extremism and sectarianism", but insisted that Tehran's regional policy will not change. "Our message to the countries of the region is that we should cooperate to face the common threat," Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters after meeting Kuwaiti officials on his first foreign trip since the nuclear deal with world powers. "Iran has always supported the people of this region in confronting the common threat which is terrorism, extremism and sectarianism," he said.
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| Merkel urges Turkish PM to stick with Kurdish peace process Posted: 26 Jul 2015 07:43 AM PDT  German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday urged Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to stick with the Kurdish peace process despite escalating violence, her office said. Merkel assured Davutoglu of the "solidarity and support of Germany in the fight against terrorism" but also recalled "the principle of proportionality in the implementation of necessary measures". The chancellor appealed to the Turkish premier "not to give up the peace process with the Kurds but to continue it despite all the difficulties," Merkel's spokesman Georg Streiter said in a statement.
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| Iraq forces retake university on edge of Ramadi Posted: 26 Jul 2015 07:39 AM PDT  Iraqi government forces recaptured a university campus Sunday on the outskirts of Ramadi from the Islamic State group, seizing a key position for any offensive to retake the city, officials said. Iraqi forces had recaptured parts of Anbar University in May, shortly after losing the provincial capital to the jihadists, but later pulled back. The university was retaken by elite forces from Iraq's Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), known as the "Golden Brigade".
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| Iran's top diplomat tours Arab states following nuclear deal Posted: 26 Jul 2015 07:34 AM PDT  KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Iran's top diplomat began a three-nation regional tour Sunday aimed at deepening ties with Arab neighbors following the conclusion of the Islamic Republic's historic nuclear deal with world powers.
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| Germany urges Turkey to respect proportionality in fight against PKK Posted: 26 Jul 2015 06:33 AM PDT Germany will support Ankara in its fight against extremists, Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in a phone call on Sunday, but she also urged the Nato partner to keep measures appropriate. The phone call came after Kurdish militants killed two Turkish soldiers, apparently retaliating for Ankara's crackdown on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which was launched in tandem with strikes on Islamic State insurgents in Syria. Davutoglu informed Merkel by phone about the actions of the Turkish government in the "fight against terrorism" following the attacks in Suruc and other attacks against Turkish security forces, a German government spokesman said. |
| Merkel's Bavarian ally wants more money to cope with refugees Posted: 26 Jul 2015 05:27 AM PDT By Michael Nienaber BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany needs to double its financial support to federal states struggling with a surge of refugees and tougher rules are needed to prevent the abuse of asylum procedures, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian ally said on Sunday. Germany expects a record-breaking flow of asylum-seekers this year as growing numbers flee conflicts and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. "We need a massive increase in funds, the federal government has to do significantly more than hitherto," Seehofer told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag. |
| Iraqi forces clash with Islamic State militants at Anbar university Posted: 26 Jul 2015 03:39 AM PDT Iraqi security forces entered the University of Anbar in the western city of Ramadi on Sunday and clashed with Islamic State militants inside the compound, the joint operations command said in a statement. Capture of the sprawling complex, which a spokesman said had been used as an insurgent command base, could advance government efforts to retake Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, Iraq's largest province, after its fall to Islamic State in May. Security forces and militia groups have launched an offensive in the Sunni heartland, but progress has been incremental. |
| Australian with alleged IS links charged with supporting terrorism Posted: 26 Jul 2015 02:04 AM PDT  An Australian nurse was charged on Sunday with terrorism offences for allegedly supporting the Islamic State group in Syria, after he voluntarily returned home from the war-torn country. The 39-year-old Melbourne father of five, named in local media as Islamic convert Adam Brookman, briefly faced a Melbourne court on Sunday after surrendering to officials in Turkey on Tuesday, Australian Federal Police said. Brookman, who arrived back in Australia on Friday night, was charged with one count of knowingly providing support to a terrorist organisation, IS, which carries a maximum jail time of 25 years.
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| Europe Puts Its Finger on the Trigger Posted: 26 Jul 2015 01:00 AM PDT  Around the continent, defense and intelligence budgets are ballooning in response to a plethora of threats.
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| 14 killed in suicide bombing in northeast Nigeria Posted: 25 Jul 2015 05:36 PM PDT  A "mentally handicapped" female suicide bomber killed at least 14 people and injured 47 more at a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Damaturu on Sunday, witnesses and a hospital source said. "Today is the market day here and at 9:50 (0850 GMT) this morning, a female suicide bomber blew herself up at the... entrance of the market where commuters were arriving," market trader Garba Abdullahi told AFP. "We evacuated 15 dead bodies to the hospital, including the suicide bomber who was identified as a mentally unstable woman that had been known for years in the area," he said, adding that the bomber was around 40 years old.
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| A Good Month for Syria's Tyrant Posted: 25 Jul 2015 02:40 PM PDT  Over the last two years, as the Islamic State took control over a large swath of Syria and Iraq, Turkey had refrained from engaging in the U.S.-led fight against the group. On Thursday, Ankara announced that the United States would be allowed to launch air attacks against ISIS from a Turkish base in the city of Incirlik. Then on Friday, Turkish F-16 plans struck ISIS targets within Syria, marking the first direct attack against the terrorist organization since its formation.
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