News Updates from CLG
26 August 2014
Previous edition:‘FBI, Homeland Security Bulletin Asks Police to Be Aware of ISIS,’ which Google relegated to the trash bin. Google subscribers: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.
Foley murder video ‘may have been staged’ 25 Aug 2014 The video of James Foley’s execution may have been staged, with the actual murder taking place off-camera, it has emerged. Forensic analysis of the footage of the journalist’s death has suggested that the British jihadist in the film may have been the frontman rather than the killer…A study of the four-minute 40-second clip, carried out by an international forensic science company which has worked for police forces across Britain, suggested camera trickery and slick post-production techniques appear to have been used. A forensic analyst told The Times that no blood can be seen, even though the knife is drawn across the neck area at least six times…One expert commissioned to examine the footage was reported as saying: "I think it has been staged."
US ‘set to launch air strikes’ on senior Isis leaders in Syria 23 Aug 2014 The United States was said to be considering air strikes aimed at eliminating individual leaders of Islamic State as Turkey came under mounting pressure to stem the flow of jihadists across its border into Syria. As Washington on Saturday debated extending air strikes into Syria, senior British politicians urged Ankara to act to block recruits from the UK and other countries from entering Syria via Turkey, en route to joining Islamic State (formerly Isis)…Isis wants to establish dominance in the area to make it easier for potential recruits to gain safe passage and to allow the movement of vital supplies, including weapons and oil.
RAAF jets and Army SAS ready to wage war on ISIS in Iraq 26 Aug 2014 RAAF fighter jets could be deployed in a possible operation against Islamic militants in northern Iraq. The plan is part of a wider set of contingency options being drawn up by the Defence Department’s military planners in Canberra and inside American units in the US. News Corp Australia has been told that the contributions in support of a US-led mission could include: A squadron of RAAF Super Hornet fighters; special-forces troops; an expanded humanitarian mission.
Hundreds dead as Islamic State seizes Syrian air base: monitor 24 Aug 2014 [Mossad-trained, US-armed] Islamic State militants stormed an air base in northeast Syria on Sunday, capturing it from government forces after days of fighting that cost more than 500 lives, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 346 Islamic State fighters were killed and more than 170 members of government forces had died since Tuesday in the fight over Tabqa base, making it one of the deadliest confrontations between the two groups since the start of Syria’s war.
10,000 more Israeli reservists called up 25 Aug 2014 The Knesset authorised the government’s request to call up another 10,000 reservists on Monday morning (Australian time). The request came on the same day that Israel’s struck more than 50 targets in Gaza overnight, including senior Hamas operative Muhammed al-Aoul, who is responsible for transferring funds.
Israeli spy drone downed near Iran’s Natanz nuclear plant – Revolutionary Guards 24 Aug 2014 Iran has shot down an Israeli spy drone trying to penetrate the "nuclear off-limits area" of the Natanz nuclear site, the Revolutionary Guards said on their website. "The downed aircraft was of the stealth, radar-evasive type and it intended to penetrate the off-limit nuclear area in Natanz…but was targeted by a ground-to-air missile before it managed to enter the area," Reuters quotes the statement by the Revolutionary Guards. Iran’s forces fired a missile at the drone as it neared its uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, more than 300 kilometers south of Tehran.
89 Palestine families wiped out by Israel’s Gaza campaign 25 Aug 2014 At least 89 entire families have been killed in Gaza since Israel started its military campaign, Palestinian health officials said. The Judeh family, a woman and her four children, died after an airstrike hit their house reportedly without warning. The incident happened in Tel Azatar, in the northern part of the Gaza strip and the family of five was killed instantly, after the Israeli Defense Forces launched their attack, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports. Locals said no warnings were given that airstrikes were imminent.
Lavrov: Russia to send another humanitarian convoy to Ukraine 25 Aug 2014 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced plans for a second humanitarian convoy to be sent to eastern Ukraine, urging foreign actors and agencies to participate in continuing efforts at relieving the crisis. Failure to do so would constitute a violation of international law, he warned…FM Lavrov stressed that as the indiscriminate shelling of areas such as Lugansk continues, the humanitarian need for water and food grows. This has been acknowledged by humanitarian agencies and international actors at large.