Russian reprisals against Turkey continue:
Serbian arms maker says his plant made guns used in Paris attacks, our Balkan Service reports:
The director of a weapons plant in Serbia has confirmed that at least two of the assault rifles used by Islamic militants during the Paris terrorist attacks on November 13 were manufactured by his company in the early 1990s.
Milojko Brzakovic, general manager of the Zastava–Oruzje factory in Kragujevac, Serbia, told RFE/RL on November 27 that Serbia's Interior Ministry had asked for information about the specific guns used in the Paris attacks as part of an international investigation.
Brzakovic said investigators were tracing the origins of at least two Zastava M70s used in the attack -- modified versions of the Soviet AK-47 that were the standard issue for Yugoslav military forces since 1970.
He said the Serbian officials had provided "specific numbers" for guns that had been used by militants in Paris and were found at the scenes of the attacks.
Germany's Bild newspaper reported that a man was arrested by German authorities on November 24 for allegedly selling four weapons to the militants who killed 130 people in Paris on November 13.
Bild reported that four assault rifles -- two AK-47s made in China and two Zastava M70s made in what is now Serbia -- were sold illegally online by the suspect on November 7 to a buyer of "Arab descent."
Prosecutors in Stuttgart, Germany, on November 27 confirmed the arrest of a 34-year-old man on arms dealing charges but have declined to comment on Bild's report that he supplied guns to the Islamic State (IS) militants who carried out the Paris attacks.
The IS militants attacked France's national stadium, a concert hall, and a series bars and restaurants. (Reuters, AP, Bild)
Analyst Charles Lister backs up British Prime Minister David Cameron's statement that there are "70,000 moderate opposition fighters in Syria" in The Spectator:
Yesterday David Cameron told Parliament that there are ‘about 70,000 Syrian opposition fighters on the ground who do not belong to extremist groups’ who could help fight Islamic State.
The Prime Minister’s number was the result of an internal assessment made by the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), backed up by serving British diplomats overseas whose jobs focus on the Syrian opposition. Such a large number struck many as political exaggeration. The chairman of the Defence Committee, Julian Lewis, said he was ‘extremely surprised’. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn may issue a formal demand for clarification. So do these fighters exist and who are they?
Of course, the debate primarily centres around the issue of what it means to be a ‘moderate armed opposition group’ in Syria. Notwithstanding the storm surrounding this morning’s statement, this question has become particularly pertinent in recent days, as international diplomats discuss who should – and should not – be involved in a future Syrian peace process.
As diplomatic efforts for Syria gain pace and as Saudi Arabia prepares to host a major conference bringing together 60-80 representatives of a broad spectrum opposition, the definition of “moderate” has been shifting. The most effective definition now must be based upon a combined assessment of (a) what groups are acknowledged as being opposed to ISIL and (b) what groups our governments want, or need to be involved in a political process.
Having studied Syria’s armed opposition since the first months of the country’s uprising in mid-2011, I can say with confidence that the Prime Minister and the JIC are about right. More