Showing posts with label Paris massacre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paris massacre. Show all posts

Sunday, November 22, 2015

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



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 deploy its aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean sea for fighting Islamic State group.(AP Photo/Claude Paris) 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."


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Saturday, November 21, 2015

Reuters Exclusive: In Paris attack, nurse discovers the man he tried to save was bomber




 


Reuters

 

PARIS | By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Pauline Mevel
 David, a French nurse who delivered first aid to a suicide attacker who blew himself up at the Comptoir Voltaire cafe during last week's Paris attacks, poses during an interview with Reuters in Paris, France, November 20, 2015. FRANCE-SHOOTING/NURSE-BOMBER REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
 
In the chaos of the explosion at the Comptoir Voltaire cafe, one of several targets hit in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, nurse David instinctively sought to help the wounded.
Among them was a man lying amid overturned chairs and tables. David, who asked to be called just by his first name, lay him down. The man did not look to have massive injuries, but appeared unconscious, so David began CPR, the cardiopulmonary resuscitation he'd been trained for.
When he tore open the man's t-shirt, David quickly realized that what he initially thought was a gas explosion at the cafe close to the Bataclan music hall where gunmen killed 89, was actually something far worse.
"There were wires; one white, one black, one red and one orange. Four different colors," he told Reuters. "I knew then he was a suicide bomber."
The man David was trying to resuscitate was Brahim Abdeslam, one of those involved in a series of deadly attacks that killed 130 people at bars, restaurants, a soccer stadium and a music hall. No one other than Abdeslam died at the cafe.
 
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Obama defends his strategy against the Islamic State, saying it will ‘take time’





 
 
 
 

Obama speaks about the Islamic State and refugees following the Paris attacks

President Obama made remarks and answered questions at the G-20 summit in Turkey on Nov. 13. Here's what he said about the path forward fighting the Islamic State, welcoming Muslims and protecting Syrian refugees. (AP)
 
By Greg Jaffe November 16  
 
 
The carnage of the Paris attacks and the largely stalemated war in Iraq and Syria have prompted heavy criticism of President Obama’s handling of the fight against the Islamic State over the past three years.
 
The questions came in waves Monday at the Group of 20 summit in Antalya, Turkey: Hadn’t Obama underestimated the threat posed by the Islamic State? Wasn’t it time for a new and more aggressive attack plan? Did he really understand the group well enough to defeat it and protect the United States?

“All right,” Obama replied to the last question, his tone betraying utter indignation. “So this is a variation on the same question. . . . Let me try it one last time.”

In response to each of the questions posed by reporters, Obama made his case for a steady and persistent campaign that seeks to gradually shrink the Islamic State’s territory in Iraq and Syria with airstrikes, slowly build up indigenous ground forces and press for renewed diplomatic negotiations to end Syria’s civil war.

The questions reflected concerns following the Paris attacks — which killed 129 people and led France’s president to promise a “merciless” response — that Obama had missed opportunities to defeat the group when it was still gaining strength.


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The governors of Alabama, Michigan, Indiana and Texas are among at least a dozen of those challenging Obama over Syrian refugees.




States refuse to accept Syrian refugees after Paris attacks

 
November 16, 2015 1:20 PM MST
The governors of Alabama and Michigan said Sunday they would accept any refugees from Syria in their states, amid concerns about “gaping holes” impacting America’s screening process.
Play
The governors of Alabama and Michigan said Sunday they would accept any refugees from Syria in their states, amid concerns about “gaping holes” impacting America’s screening process.
SMAD NEWS
 

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White House, U.S. governors to discuss Syrian refugees: reports

Reuters
 
The North Portico of the White House at sunrise in Washington
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View photo
The North Portico of the White House is seen at sunrise in Washington, D.C. November 29, 2007. REUTERS/Larry 
 
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House plans to hold a conference call with U.S. governors on Tuesday to discuss the Syrian refugee situation, CNN and NBC News reported. 



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Sunday, November 15, 2015

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  
 

 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.


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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

Syrian airstrikes

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.

Raqqa in Syria is an Islamic State stronghold

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.

Two French army Mirage 2000 fighter jets prepare to take off

 
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.


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Paris Attackers Communicated With ISIS, Officials Say

The New York Times


By and   NOV. 15, 2015

French Warplanes Strike Islamic State Militants in Syria


Police officers in the Molenbeek area of Brussels on Saturday. 
 
© 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.


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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


Salah Abdeslam

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.

A rose in a bullet hole at La Belle Equipe restaurant in Paris
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.


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The New York Times

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.”
 
 

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Saturday, November 14, 2015

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

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.


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