Russia ‘must change strategy’ in Syria if it wants to join US-led ‘anti-ISIS’ coalition – State Dept......Ummmm what US-led ‘anti-ISIS’ coalition?????

Hmmmm,  last I checked the sovereign Nation of Syria had invited only two countries to enter and assist in the eradication of ISIS .  Russia and Iran.

It is curious  that in the short time period that Russia has been involved they have done more to eradicate the scourge infecting Syria than the US had done  in the two years it has been leading this  alleged ‘anti-ISIS’ coalition.

So my question is  what right  does the US have to stipulate any demands  or requirements  of Russia? When they have been invited by a  sovereign Nation.  The  US, however, has basically entered said  sovereign Nation of it's own accord to tell them who should be in charge.

Not to mention claiming victories  against ISIS  while using videos of  airstrikes that are  essentially  Russian. Making it very clear that the  US  has no footage to backup their claims.  Quite the contrary they have been accused of  not only backing  ISIS  but having created it.

The Russian campaign in Syria has brought to light just how inept the alleged US led  campaign truly is.  As well as the discrepancies in the reports given by US officials.  For the most part fairy tales and fabrication!

Essentially waging war without declaring war on Syria itself! 

 

What unmitigated audacity!

~Desertrose~

 


**********************************************************

Russia ‘must change strategy’ in Syria if it wants to join US-led ‘anti-ISIS’ coalition – State Dept

Published time: 21 Nov, 2015 04:32Edited time: 23 Nov, 2015 

Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby. © Alex Wong / AFP

 

Russia is not welcome to join the US-led coalition in Syria, as France has proposed, until it changes its “focus” and stops “propping up” President Assad, the US State Department said. Yet, Washington continues to insist their goal isn’t defeating Assad.

TrendsIslamic State, Russian anti-terror op in Syria, Syria unrest

“If other nations not in the coalition [the US-led coalition] want to join it and become part of it and focus on the fight against ISIL [Islamic State/IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] that’s a conversation we’re certainly willing to have,” US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said.

An appeal to expand the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State came from French President Francois Hollande three days after deadly attacks in Paris a week ago. Stating that “France is at war,” Hollande called for the creation of a “large coalition,” which could unite forces with Russia “to achieve a result that has taken too long.”

 READ MORE: 'For Paris!' Revenge messages on ISIS-bound Russian bombs


The grand coalition is going to be the focus of separate talks President Hollande will have with his American and Russian counterparts in coming days. The French leader is expected to hold talks in Washington on November 24 and in Moscow on November 26. However, the US State Department says that Russia’s involvement in the coalition would depend on Moscow’s “commitment.” “But in order for that to work, every member of the coalition has to have the same focus on defeating ISIL, and thus far we, talking about Russia, haven’t seen that same commitment,” Kirby said, referring to Russia’s support for the Syrian President Bashar Assad. “It’s inconsistent with the goals of the coalition, which is to defeat ISIL, if you’re also propping up the Assad regime.”

 

    Read More Here

The UN Security Council on Friday authorized countries to "take all necessary measures" to fight the Islamic State

msn

UN approves 'all necessary measures' to fight IS

 

AFP

 

Soldiers prepare a Rafale war plane on the deck of France's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, at its home port of Toulon, southern France, Wednesday, Nov.18, 2015. France has decided to… 


The UN Security Council on Friday authorized countries to "take all necessary measures" to fight the Islamic State group in a resolution that won unanimous backing a week after the Paris attacks.
The measure drafted by France calls on all UN member states to "redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist attacks" committed by IS and other extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda.

French President Francois Hollande welcomed the adoption, saying the resolution would "help mobilise nations to eliminate Daesh" (IS), which has claimed responsibility for the attacks that left 130 dead in Paris.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said countries should now find concrete ways to shore up the fight, "either through military action, the search for political solutions or the battle against terrorist financing."

Read More Here

France continues military strikes against ISIS in wake of Paris attack

RT America

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Published on Nov 17, 2015

French President Francois Hollande has called the Paris attacks an ‘act of war’ by the Islamic State and called on the global community to step up its fight against the terrorist regime by bombing Syria. Simone Del Rosario reports from Paris.

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November 18, 2015

Amb. Marc GinsbergFmr. U.S. Ambassador to Morocco; White House Middle East Adviser

France Cries ISIS -- Obama Cries Uncle -- A Field Guide to a Better Battle Against ISIS

Posted: 11/18/2015 10:10 am EST Updated: 1 hour ago 

Based on President Obama's defiant ("I know better than everyone") defensive crouch at his post-Paris attacks G-20 Turkey press conference don't expect a sea change in White House policy against ISIS. Just think of more sloppy spit across the ISIS swamp. Better yet, designate it "Leading From As Far Behind as Possible, Version 2.0."

It was Obama at his most unappealing - setting up the red herrings and imaginary (if not imaginative) policy alibis that is his want in a vain attempt to silence his growing chorus of ISIS critics. The president's stubborn insistence that anyone daring to challenge his failing, slap-dash anti-ISIS strategy that has squandered so much and produced so little is merely playing politics: "W" wannabees bent on repeating the historical error of the Iraq invasion.

If only, as Obama whined in Anatalya, his ISIS critics would cease engaging in petty "political games or offering shallow solutions..." by challenging him on ISIS, life would be well and good for all. It's akin to him asserting that between birth and death there is nothing in between, case closed!
Smearing anyone who smells the malodorous odor of a failing Syria/Iraq/ISIS policy a mile away is a self-serving falsehood Obama frequently resorts to when cornered. By persisting in this un-presidential conduct Mr. Obama camouflages his own failures no longer able to be hidden - sinking to the low level of Politician-in-Chief rather than rising to a respected Commander-in-Chief as ISIS pounds at our doorstep.

Read More Here

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PARIS TERROR ATTACK

French prosecutor: 9th suspect in Paris terror attacks being sought

France made an unprecedented demand Tuesday that its European Union allies support its military action against the Islamic State group after the attacks in Paris.

by Tiffany Wilson

Tuesday, November 17, 2015 03:33PM

GERMANY (KGO) --

Authorities are seeking a ninth suspect in Friday's attacks in Paris, a French prosecutor's spokeswoman told ABC News. The spokeswoman did not reveal any details about the suspect's identity.

France took unprecedented action Tuesday when it invoked the Mutual-Defense article of the EU Treaty. Now all 28 member nations must help France in its war against ISIS.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said all 27 of France's EU partners responded positively, and they could help "either by taking part in France's operations in Syria or Iraq, or by easing the load or providing support for France in other operations."

"Every country said: I am going to assist, I am going to help," Drian said.

VIDEO: France carries out raids, names more potential attackers

Arriving for talks in Brussels with his EU counterparts, Greek Defense Minister Panagiotis Kammenos told reporters that the Paris attacks were a game-changer for the bloc.
"This is Sept. 11 for Europe," he said.
French President Francois Hollande has vowed to forge a united coalition capable of defeating the jihadists at home and abroad. NATO allies were sharing intelligence and working closely with France, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.
Noting that victims of the Paris attacks came from at least 19 nations, Hollande says the international community, led by the U.S. and Russia, must overcome their deep-seated divisions over Syria to destroy IS on its home turf.

Read More Here

Paris vowed to destroy the group as French fighter planes drop 20 bombs on the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria. Investigation Updates

 

France launches air strikes in Syria; Paris investigation widens

Reuters

 

By Emmanuel Jarry and Robert-Jan Bartunek  

 

Islamic State billboards are seen along a street in Raqqa, eastern Syria, which is controlled by the Islamic State, October 29, 2014. The billboard reads: "We will win despite the global coalition". REUTERS/Nour Fourat

 French warplanes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria on Sunday as police in Europe widened their investigations into coordinated attacks in Paris that killed more than 130 people.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday's suicide bombings and shootings, which have re-ignited a row over Europe's refugee crisis and drawn calls to block a huge influx of Muslim asylum-seekers.

French police have launched an international hunt for a Belgian-born man they believe helped organize the assaults with two of his brothers. One of the brothers died in the attacks, while the second one is under arrest in Belgium, a judicial source said.

A further two French suicide attackers have been identified, police said, while the identity of four other assailants, who all died in the violence, was still under review.

France has been bombing Islamic State positions in Iraq and Syria for months as part of a U.S.-led operation. Following Friday's mayhem, Paris vowed to destroy the group. Underlining its resolve, French jets on Sunday launched their biggest raids in Syria to date, hitting its stronghold in Raqqa.
"The raid ... including 10 fighter jets, was launched simultaneously from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Twenty bombs were dropped," the Defence Ministry said. Among the targets were a munitions depot and training camp, it said.

Read More Here

 

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Sky News

France Drops 20 Bombs On IS Stronghold Raqqa

French jets carry out their biggest bombing raid in Syria after Islamic State gunmen massacre 132 people in Paris.

23:03, UK, Sunday 15 November 2015

French fighter planes have dropped 20 bombs on the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria.

The bombers hit a jihadi recruitment centre, training camp and arms depot run by the extremist group, according to the French defence ministry.

A spokesman described it as a "massive" attack and France's biggest to date in Syria.

The aerial raid was launched from air bases in United Arab Emirates and Jordan, and involved France's 12 fighter bombers based there.

It follows Friday's terror attacks which left 132 people dead in the French capital.

 
Video: France Hits Raqqa With 'Iron Fist'

IS fighters said they carried out the gun and bomb massacre - calling Paris "the capital of prostitution and obscenity".

Sky's Sam Kiley, in northern Iraq, said the French airstrikes should not be seen as a "wanton act of revenge" or carpet-bombing campaign.

"I think it's very clear that the French and the wider coalition have decided in a sense to give France the iron fist at least for the next 24 hours or so," he said.

Read More Here

 

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Paris Attackers Communicated With ISIS, Officials Say

By ALISSA J. RUBIN and KATRIN BENNHOLD  NOV. 15, 2015

French Warplanes Strike Islamic State Militants in Syria

 

 

© Olivier Hoslet/European Pressphoto Agency Police officers in the Molenbeek area of Brussels on Saturday.

 

PARIS — French warplanes struck Islamic State militants in Syria on Sunday, a French government official said, two days after attackers linked to the terrorist group carried out a coordinated assault on Paris that killed 129 people.

Prior to the attack on Paris, France had been sparing in its strikes against targets in Syria.

News reports in France said the airstrikes were focused on Raqqa, the city in northern Syria that is the self-proclaimed capital of the Islamic State.

The attackers in Friday’s terrorist assault in Paris communicated at some point beforehand with known members of the Islamic State in Syria, officials on both sides of the Atlantic say, adding evidence to the assertions that the radical group coordinated or helped carry out the attacks rather than simply inspired them.

President François Hollande of France has characterized the attacks as “an act of war” carried out by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. He provided no specific information, but the Islamic State released statements on Saturday claiming responsibility for the attacks, part of increasing indications that the group is becoming more capable of extending its reach far beyond its base in Syria and Iraq.

Read More Here

 

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Sky News

Police 'Let Fugitive Suspect Go After Attacks'

A manhunt is under way for Saleh Abdeslam after he was reportedly questioned and released despite being identified by authorities.

21:29, UK, Sunday 15 November 2015

A man wanted over the Paris terror attacks had been questioned and released by police hours after the massacres, it is claimed.

Salah Abdeslam, 26, reportedly helped with logistics and rented a black Volkswagen Polo used by the gunmen who stormed the Bataclan concert hall and killed at least 89 people on Friday night.
He was apparently spoken to by officers on Saturday morning when they pulled over a car carrying three people near the Belgian border.

Police then checked Abdeslam's ID and subsequently let him go, officials told the Associated Press.
The incident came just hours after authorities had identified him as the person who rented the Polo which was abandoned at the scene of the attack.

Video: Acts Of Remembrance Across Paris
 

One of his brothers, Ibrahim Abdeslam, was reportedly among the seven suicide bombers in the co-ordinated assaults targeting six sites across the French capital.

A third brother was apparently arrested in Belgium and questioned before being released.
Salah Abdeslam, who was born in Brussels, is described as 1m 75cm (5ft 8in) tall and has brown eyes.

Police released a photo of him and warned the public he is dangerous and said "do not intervene yourself". There are reports he may have fled to Spain.

Another man, Bilal Hadfi, has been named as among the attackers and he also lived in Belgium as did Salah and Ibrahim Abdeslam, said the Washington Post.

Read More Here

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Paris Bloodshed May Be the Latest of
Many ISIS Attacks Around the World

By KAREN YOURISH, DEREK WATKINS and TOM GIRATIKANONUPDATED Nov. 14, 2015

 

 

Major events: Attacks directed by/linked to ISIS Attacks inspired by ISIS Arrests of suspected ISIS militants or supporters

 

Outlined countries are where ISIS is conducting regular military operations.

IRAQ

Libya

Egypt

See Detailed Map Here

ISIS Declares Provinces Across the Region

 Countries and regions in yellow are where ISIS has declared provinces.

 

Algeria
Lybia
Egypt
Syria
Iraq
Saudi Arabia
YemenAfghanistan
Pakistan
Nigeria

See Detailed Map Here


If investigators determine that the Islamic State is responsible for the catastrophic attacks in Paris, as the group claims and France alleges, the assaults represent a major leap in the group’s abilities.
Until now, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has relied mainly on “lone wolf” followers to attack the West, with relatively low-tech assaults — shootings, the taking of hostages, hit-and-runs — that draw wide attention but do not cause mass casualties.

“This is much different than a normal lone wolf inspired attack,” said Patrick M. Skinner, a former C.I.A. operations officer now with the Soufan Group, a security consultancy. “This was choreographed.”

“The fact that they could do this, especially in Paris, where the intelligence service is really good, clearly there’s a hole somewhere,” Mr. Skinner said.
The Islamic State has been expanding beyond its base in Iraq and Syria since it declared a caliphate, or Islamic state, in June 2014. The group is focused on three parallel tracks, according to Harleen Gambhir, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War:

• inciting regional conflict with attacks in Iraq and Syria;
• building relationships with jihadist groups that can carry out military operations across the Middle East and North Africa;
• and inspiring, and sometimes helping, ISIS sympathizers to conduct attacks in the West.

 

“The goal,” Ms. Gambhir said, “is that through these regional affiliates and through efforts to create chaos in the wider world, the organization will be able to expand, and perhaps incite a global apocalyptic war.”

 

 

Read More Here

 

 

 

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Paris 'Act of War' Then Celebrates Using Twitter

ISIS claims responsibility for Paris massacre; attackers include Belgians, Frenchman, possible Syrian migrant

BY Meg Wagner

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Saturday, November 14, 2015, 3:46 PM

NY Daily News

 

ISIS claimed responsibility for a horrific series of coordinated attacks throughout Paris that killed 129 people and wounded 352 as official announced the assailants included three Belgians, a Frenchman and  possibly one Syrian migrant who passed through Greece this year.

The terror group warned in a Saturday statement that France “will remain at the top of the list of targets of the Islamic State" and claimed that eight of its fighters stormed carefully chosen targets in the “capital of adultery and vice."

One of the fighters, who was killed in a suicide bomb, had a Syrian passport on him, officials said.

Officials in Greece said that passport belonged to a migrant who had entered Europe in October through Leros, one of the islands that tens of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in Syria and elsewhere have been using as a gateway to the European Union in recent months.

It's not clear if the passport belonged to the fighter or if it was stolen from a refugee.

Another one of the terrorists was a 30-year-old French national who had been on authorities’ radar since 2010 for his ties to Islamic extremism, officials said.

Read More Here

The Devastating Paris Attacks : What We Know So Far

ABC News

Devastation in France: What We Know About The Paris Attacks

• By EMILY KNAPP
• EMILY SHAPIRO

Nov 14, 2015, 5:30 PM ET

Christian Hartmann/Reuters

WATCH At Least 1 American Killed in Paris Terror Attacks

A wave of devastating attacks on civilians across Paris Friday night has left at least 129 dead, including an American, and many more injured.
As France initiates a state of emergency and begins several days of mourning, here is a breakdown of what we know so far:

Where

Six separate attacks were carried out across Paris, beginning after 10 p.m. local time Friday night.
One of the targets was the Stade de France soccer stadium, where Germany was playing France in a game that French President Francois Hollande was attending. Hollande was evacuated from the stadium.

Christophe Ena/AP Photo

A French supporter reacts after invading the pitch of the Stade de France stadium at the end of a soccer match between France and Germany in Saint Denis, outside Paris, Nov. 13, 2015.more +

At least 80 were killed inside the Bataclan concert hall, where American rock band Eagles of Death Metal was playing. A witness in the theater told ABC News she heard gunmen shout "Syria!"
The four other attacks were at other locations in the 10th and 11th districts of Paris, where gunmen targeted bars and restaurants. Police said some attackers first sprayed cafes outside the venue with machine gunfire before continuing the assault inside the concert hall.

Thibault Camus/AP Photo

A woman is evacuated from the Bataclan theater after a shooting in Paris, Nov. 13, 2015.

Read More Here

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ABC News

American College Student Killed in Paris Attacks

• By EMILY SHAPIRO

Nov 14, 2015, 1:51 PM ET

John Walton PA via AP

WATCH At Least 1 American Killed in Paris Terror Attacks

A 23-year-old American was killed in Friday night's devastating six-part attack in Paris, according to California State University, Long Beach.
Nohemi Gonzalez, a CSU Long Beach student, was in Paris attending Strate College of Design for a semester abroad program, the school said.
Gonzalez was one of 17 CSU Long Beach students studying abroad at Strate, according to a school official. The 16 other students are safe, according to the school.

Read More Here

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Paris massacre: World mourns 120+ killed in series of terrorist attacks Live updates

Published time: 13 Nov, 2015 21:56Edited time: 14 Nov, 2015 

French police patrol near the closed Galeries Lafayette department store in the shopping district the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris, France, November 14, 2015 © Yves Herman / Reuters

The world is mourning with France, the victims of Friday’s terror assaults in Paris that claimed the lives of at least 129 people. Security has been tightened up globally as Islamic State, who claimed responsibility for the massacre, threatened more violence.

• 14 November 2015

  
  

  21:46 GMT
  A second person who was reportedly involved in the Paris massacre is “very likely” to have entered European Union via Greece, sources in the Greek government told Reuters. Earlier Greece's deputy minister in charge of police said a Syrian man whose passport was found at one of the suicide bombing sites made it to the EU through Greece in October.
• 21:33 GMT
  

  A spokesman for the Accor hotel chain, which operates the Pullman Hotel, also confirmed that the earlier incident was a false bomb alert.
• 21:24 GMT
  

  A spokesman for the French Interior Ministry has told Reuters that the incident at the hotel in the center of Paris was a false alarm.
• 21:22 GMT
  

  Heavily armed police have been deployed at the Pullman Hotel in Paris' 15th district, according to witnesses, who said the officers were searching through rooms. An evacuation has also been reported to have taken place near the Eiffel Tower.
• 21:08 GMT
  

  Police in Paris have evacuated an area around the Eiffel tower, Reuters reports, citing witnesses.
  
  
  
  
  Read More Here

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Perfect storm: ‘Paris massacre may enflame public opinion on migrant crisis, NATO interventions'

Published time: 14 Nov, 2015 14:22

People react and keep warm using thermal blankets near the Bataclan concert hall following fatal attacks in Paris, France, November 14, 2015. © Christian Hartmann / Reuters

French President Hollande has declared a state of emergency across the country as Paris comes to grip with a series of terrorist attacks that led to the death of 127 people in the capital, which was placed under curfew for the first time since World War II.

RT interviewed several analysts for their opinions on what these deadly coordinated attacks in the French capital mean not only for the freedom of movement across Europe, but for the ongoing Syrian military operation, which has brought together various state actors - including the US and Russia - in an increasingly shrinking and volatile military theater.

Alain Corvez, Former Advisor to French Interior Ministry, provided insight into the question as to how it is possible that Islamic State has such a long reach - right into the very heart of Europe.

Corvez believes these attacks are “linked to the geopolitical system, and what we are doing in Iraq and in Syria is directly linked to attacks.”

I think all of the specialists and experts on terrorism knew that such an attack was possible," he continued. "This is a world war against terrorists that we have to wage. And for the first time, President Hollande said we have to fight terrorism on a larger scale."

‘France has been intervening in the Middle East since 1917’

Washington-based defense analyst Ivan Eland, asked whether this was the right time for nations to put aside their differences and join together in the fight against terrorism, he explained that it is important to consider the problem long-term it is important to ask “what are the root causes of this terrorism – we call them “blanket terrorism” – but there’s many different groups in the world with many different causes and most of them tend to be local causes, which become international causes when Western countries, or other countries, intervene where they shouldn’t.”

“France has been intervening in the Middle East since after World War I, when Britain and France divided it; it was the colonial master in Syria and now it’s taking a fairly assertive policy by bombing in Syria.

It’s no secret – this is not random - that France is the target.”

Read More and Watch Videos Here

'Terrorists chose Paris as iconic target like twin towers' – ex-CIA officer

Published time: 14 Nov, 2015 08:41

The Paris attacks are reminiscent to the terrorist gun spree in Mumbai in 2008, when separate groups of gunmen went on a shooting spree at different locations across the city. This tactic is a brutally efficient form of terrorism, Rice said.

The series of apparent Islamic State attacks in Paris can be compared to the 2001 destruction of the WTC towers in the US, says Jack Rice, a former CIA officer. The French capital is an iconic European city, and terrorists target icons.

READ MORE: Paris attacks: 150+ killed and many injured in a series of terrorist acts (LIVE UPDATES)

France has suffered one of the worst tragedies in its modern history with more than 150 people reported killed in seven separate gun and bomb attacks throughout the capital. The terrorist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks. “Part of the strength that a terrorist group has is to take down an icon,” Rice told RT. “If we go back to 9/11 in the United States, they took down the World Trade Center and parts of New York. And we've seen efforts around the world to do similar things.


Read More and Watch Videos Here
 

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Paris Attacks: Grief and Heartbreak Around the World

Inside the Stade de France Hit By Multiple Explosions in Paris Attacks

Eagles of Death Metal Searching For Band and Crew After Attack on Paris Concert Hall

American Tourist in Paris Describes Hearing Shooting During Attack

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At least 140 dead in multiple attacks across Paris; France declares state of emergency, shuts borders

100 said killed in Paris theater alone as attackers tossed explosives at hostages; police kill at least 2 gunmen in raid; gunman said to shout ‘Allahu Akbar’; French capital terrorized by attacks in 7 locales

By Times of Israel staff November 14, 2015, 12:13 am 36

 

 

 

• 
  Victims lay on the pavement outside a Paris restaurant, Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Police officials in France on Friday reported multiple terror incidents, leaving many dead. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
• 
  France's President Hollande declares a state of emergency amid multiple attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015 (France 24 screenshot)
• 
  Fans leave the Stade de France amid a stream of fatal attacks in Paris, including explosions near the stadium, November 13, 2015. (Foto AP/Michel Euler)

The Times of Israel is live blogging events as they unfold late Friday and into Saturday.

02:52

1,500 extra soldiers deployed to Paris after attacks

The office of the French President Francois Hollande says that at least 1,500 extra soldiers have been deployed to Paris after the deadly attacks tonight.

02:43

Hollande heads to Paris theater where 100 killed

A French police official says top government officials including President Francois Hollande were headed to the Bataclan concert hall where hostages were taken.

According to police, at least 100 people were killed in the theater. A police assault on the venue finished earlier tonight, leaving at least two attackers dead, officials say.

02:41

Facebook activates ‘safety check’ feature after Paris attacks

Facebook has activated its Safety Check feature — allowing users to alert friends and others that they are safe — following the deadly terror attacks in Paris which have claimed the lives of at least 140 people tonight.

Screenshot from Facebook’s ‘Safety Check’ feature allowing users to report that they are safe.

02:33

Netanyahu: Israel stands shoulder to shoulder with France against terror

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel stands “shoulder to shoulder” with France in the “war against terrorism” after a deadly string of attacks in Paris left at least 140 dead tonight.

“Israel stands shoulder to shoulder with President Francois Hollande and with the French people in the war against terrorism,” Netanyahu said as he offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

02:20

Police say 100 dead inside Paris theater; total death toll up to 140

French police say that about 100 people were killed inside the Bataclan theater in Paris tonight, bringing the total death toll from the multiple terror attacks across the French capital to 140.

02:16

‘Dozens’ killed in Paris theater as attackers tossed explosives at hostages

Dozens of people are dead inside Paris’ famous Bataclan theater where a terrorist attack took place earlier tonight, and some 100 people were taken hostage. The death toll is expected to rise as the situation becomes clearer.

Police launched a raid and killed two attackers a short while ago.

One Paris official described “carnage” inside the building, saying the attackers had tossed explosives at the hostages.

— AP contributed 

Read More Here

Germany's foreign intelligence agency, the BND, monitored European and American government ministries and the Vatican - SPIEGEL

Governments and NGOs: Germany Spied on Friends and Vatican

 

Efforts to spy on friends and allies by Germany's foreign intelligence agency, the BND, were more extensive than previously reported. SPIEGEL has learned the agency monitored European and American government ministries and the Vatican.

 

DPA

 

The BND's listening station in Bad Aibling, Bavaria: In addition to spying on friends, German intelligence also monitored Oxfam, Care International and the Red Cross.

 

Three weeks ago, news emerged that Germany's foreign intelligence service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), had systematically spied on friends and allies around the world. In many of those instances, the BND had been doing so of its own accord and not at the request of the NSA. The BND came under heavy criticism earlier this year after news emerged that it had assisted the NSA in spying on European institutions, companies and even Germans using dubious selector data.

SPIEGEL has since learned from sources that the spying went further than previously reported. Since October's revelations, it has emerged that the BND spied on the United States Department of the Interior and the interior ministries of EU member states including Poland, Austria, Denmark and Croatia. The search terms used by the BND in its espionage also included communications lines belonging to US diplomatic outposts in Brussels and the United Nations in New York. The list even included the US State Department's hotline for travel warnings.



Read More Here

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REUTERS

World | Wed Nov 11, 2015 9:24am EST

Related: World, Germany

 

Germany seeks clarity on whether spy agency snooped on own diplomat

BERLIN

 

Germany's BND foreign intelligence service spied on a German diplomat, possibly violating the constitution, and on allies including French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, a German radio station reported on Wednesday.

Officials firmly declined to comment on the report, but the parliamentary committee that oversees intelligence agencies was due to meet later in the day with the issue to be discussed.

The report by the Berlin-based rbb Inforadio was the latest twist in a growing scandal over the activities of Germany's BND stemming from revelations in 2013 by U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden.

Without identifying its sources, rbb said the BND had monitored German Hansjoerg Haber, from 2008-2011 head of the EU's observer mission in Georgia and then a senior diplomat in Brussels. He is now head of the EU's mission in Turkey and married to a state secretary in the Interior Ministry.
The BND declined to comment. A government spokeswoman, quizzed for about 20 minutes at a regular news conference, declined to comment on the report directly and said the oversight body worked "without discussing everything in public".



Read More Here

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France

‘Nothing surprising’ about Germany spying on France

 

© AFP archive | French President François Hollande with German Chancellor Angela Merkel

Text by FRANCE 24 

Latest update : 2015-11-13

No one should be surprised that Germany’s foreign intelligence service spied on French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, a former French Air Force intelligence officer told FRANCE 24 Friday.

 

Berlin public radio reported this week that the BND intelligence service had listened in on its French allies, prompting a show of indignation from French President François Hollande.

"We ask that all the information be given to us," Hollande said Thursday on the sidelines of a migration summit in Malta. "These kinds of practices should not go on between allies.”

"I know that the chancellery will do everything it can to explain the circumstances to us in detail,” he added, saying he had been assured that such spying "had completely stopped".

According to former French Air Force intelligence officer Alain Charret, who is a member of the French Intelligence Research Centre (CF2R) thinktank, Hollande’s show of outrage is just hot air designed to calm public opinion.

Read More Here